2024/12/29 by Wei-Si Qiu, Qiu, Wei-Si, Lili Yang +5
Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #FOS: Physical sciences #Optics (physics.optics) #Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics #Quantum optics and atomic interactions
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2412.20325
openalex publication_date 2024/12/29 · openalex created_date 2025/01/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
For light, its spin can be independent of the spatial distribution of its wave function, whereas its intrinsic orbital angular momentum does depend on this distribution. This difference suggests that the spin Hall effect might differ from the orbital Hall effect as light propagates through optical materials. In this paper, we model optical materials as curved space-time and investigate light propagation in two specific materials by solving the covariant Maxwell equations. We find that the trajectory of light with spin σ and intrinsic orbital angular momentum ℓ deviates from that of light without angular momentum (σ=0 and ℓ=0) by an angle θσ,ℓ ∝ 2σ+ℓ. In particular, the contribution of spin σ to angle θσ,ℓ is twice that of the intrinsic orbital angular momentum ℓ, highlighting their differing effects on light propagation in optical materials. Furthermore, this angle θσ,ℓ could potentially be observed experimentally, enhancing our understanding of the role of angular momentum in light propagation.