2009/04/17 by J. T. Mendonça, B. Thidé, H. Then +1 · 157 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Angular momentum #Atomic physics #Beam (structure) #Brillouin scattering #Classical mechanics #Dust and Plasma Wave Phenomena #Instability #Laser #Laser-induced spectroscopy and plasma #Optics #Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics #Orbital angular momentum of light #Paraxial approximation #Physics #Plasma #Quantum mechanics #Raman scattering #Raman spectroscopy #Total angular momentum quantum number #physics.plasm-ph #physics.space-ph
paper · pdf · open access · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.102.185005
published in Physical Review Letters 102(18), 185005 (American Physical Society)
arxiv created 2009/04/17 · openalex publication_date 2009/05/08 · arxiv updated 2015/05/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We study theoretically the exchange of angular momentum between electromagnetic and electrostatic waves in a plasma, due to the stimulated Raman and Brillouin backscattering processes. Angular momentum states for plasmon and phonon fields are introduced for the first time. We demonstrate that these states can be excited by nonlinear wave mixing, associated with the scattering processes. This could be relevant for plasma diagnostics, both in laboratory and in space. Nonlinearly coupled paraxial equations and instability growth rates are derived.