6 articles
Angular momentum of light
The angular momentum of light is the rotational momentum carried by electromagnetic radiation, having a spin part set by polarization and an orbital part from helical phase fronts.
Circular polarization
Circular polarization, also called circularly polarized light, is the polarization state in which the electric-field vector traces a circle once per optical period; each photon carries spin angular momentum of ±ℏ.
Photon polarization
Photon polarization is the quantum-mechanical two-state, or qubit, description of a single photon, the analog of the classical polarization of a light wave's electric field.
Spin angular momentum of light
The spin angular momentum of light, distinct from orbital angular momentum, is the angular momentum light carries by virtue of its polarization, with each circularly polarized photon carrying ±ħ.
Spin–momentum locking of light in nanophotonic waveguides
Spin–momentum locking of light in nanophotonic waveguides is the one-to-one relationship between a guided mode's transverse spin and its propagation direction, enabling chiral light–matter coupling and unidirectional photon routing.
Transverse spin of light
The transverse spin of light is spin angular momentum oriented perpendicular to the wave's propagation direction, occurring in evanescent waves, focused beams, and interference fields independent of polarization.