Measurement of Orbital Angular Momentum of Light using Stokes Parameters and Barnett's Formalism

We present a formalism for experimental determination of the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of a paraxial optical beam-field by intertwining Barnett's formalism and Stokes parameter measurements. Using Barnett's formalism we calculate the OAM flux density of a suitably general 2-dimensiona...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inarXiv.org
Main Authors Debnath, Anirban, Viswanathan, Nirmal K
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 27.02.2023
Subjects
Angular momentum
Flux density
Formalism
Stokes parameters
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Summary:We present a formalism for experimental determination of the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of a paraxial optical beam-field by intertwining Barnett's formalism and Stokes parameter measurements. Using Barnett's formalism we calculate the OAM flux density of a suitably general 2-dimensional beam-field; and re-express it in terms of experimentally measurable quantities. Considering a demonstrative optical system, we obtain the OAM flux density profiles, total OAM flux and OAM per photon -- leading towards the experimental characterization of OAM using Barnett's formalism. Our method will find potential applications in nano-optical processes involving the transfer of electromagnetic OAM to particles and across interfaces.
ISSN:2331-8422