Kelvin's chirality of optical beams
Sergey Nechayev, Jörg S. Eismann, Rasoul Alaee, Ebrahim Karimi, Robert W. Boyd, Peter Banzer
Abstract
In this paper, the authors clarify the physical significance of the two types of chirality that occur in optical beams, namely geometrical chirality (determined by the spatial distribution of the beam) and optical chirality (given by the local handedness of the electromagnetic field vectors). An experiment shows how the two types of chirality couple to each other.
Topics & Concepts
Chirality (physics)PhysicsPlanar chiralityOpticsField (mathematics)Electromagnetic fieldQuantum mechanicsChemistryMathematicsChiral symmetryEnantioselective synthesisPure mathematicsNambu–Jona-Lasinio modelCatalysisQuarkBiochemistryOrbital Angular Momentum in OpticsOptical Polarization and EllipsometryMolecular spectroscopy and chirality