Abstract
The angular momentum of light plays an important role in many areas, from optical trapping to quantum information. In the usual three-dimensional setting, the angular momentum quantum numbers of the photon are integers, in units of the Planck constant ħ. We show that, in reduced dimensions, photons can have a half-integer total angular momentum. We identify a new form of total angular momentum, carried by beams of light, comprising an unequal mixture of spin and orbital contributions. We demonstrate the half-integer quantization of this total angular momentum using noise measurements. We conclude that for light, as is known for electrons, reduced dimensionality allows new forms of quantization.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e1501748 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Science Advances |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 29 Apr 2016 |
Keywords
- Physics
- Quantum optics
- Optical angular momentum