Angular momentum of the electromagnetic field: the plane wave paradox resolved
By A. Stewart. 2005
170 citations recorded by the source corpus.
The angular momentum of a classical electromagnetic plane wave of arbitrary extent is predicted to be, on theoretical grounds, exactly zero. However, finite sections of circularly polarized plane waves are found experimentally to carry angular momentum, and it is known that the contribution to the angular momentum arises from the edges of the beam. A mathematical model is described that gives a quantitative account of this effect and resolves the paradox.
Subfields: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/99db563f376c1e81f456c5c6aaf4b989c55796d8
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In Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
- Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop
- T. Nieminen
- N. Heckenberg
- John L. Hall
- Miles J. Padgett
- K. Bliokh
- Franco Nori
In Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Citations in the corpus
- Internal flows and energy circulation in light beams (2010, unknown): “the known paradoxes associated with the SAM of transversely limited light beams [4,84–86] appear to be eliminated. An analogous but mathematically more exquisite approach was employed by A.M. Stewart [87]. Figure 2. Model pattern of the spin flow within the cross section of a beam with circular pola”
- Optical tweezers computational toolbox (2007, background): “The second controversy is the angular momentum density of circularly polarised electromagnetic waves (Humblet 1943, Khrapko 2001, Zambrini & Barnett 2005, Stewart 2005, Pfeifer et al. 2006).”
- Nobel Lecture: Defining and measuring optical frequencies (2006, background): “The relationship between these is established by a “Watt Balance” experiment Steiner et al., 2005 .”