Mode Structure and Orbital Angular Momentum of Spatiotemporal Optical Vortex Pulses
S. W. Hancock, S. Zahedpour, H. M. Milchberg
Abstract
We identify a class of modal solutions for spatiotemporal optical vortex (STOV) electromagnetic pulses propagating in dispersive media with orbital angular momentum (OAM) orthogonal to propagation. We find that symmetric STOVs in vacuum can carry half-integer intrinsic OAM; for general asymmetric STOVs in a dispersive medium, the OAM is quantized in integer multiples of a parameter that depends on the STOV symmetry and the group velocity dispersion. Our results suggest that STOVs propagating in dispersive media are accompanied by a polaritonlike quasiparticle. The modal theory is in excellent agreement with measurements of free space propagation of STOVs.
Topics & Concepts
PhysicsAngular momentumVortexOptical vortexSymmetry (geometry)ModalSpace (punctuation)Group velocityElectromagnetic radiationMode (computer interface)OpticsClassical mechanicsOrbital angular momentum of lightTotal angular momentum quantum numberComputational physicsWave propagationQuantum electrodynamicsMomentum (technical analysis)Quantum mechanicsAngular momentum of lightAngular momentum couplingParameter spaceSymmetry groupFree spaceOrbit (dynamics)Position and momentum spaceDispersion (optics)Dynamics (music)Modal analysisOrbital mechanicsOrbital angular momentum multiplexingAngular velocityTranslational symmetryOrbital Angular Momentum in OpticsLaser-Matter Interactions and ApplicationsMetamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications