Abstract
Light beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) [1] are well known due to their powerful capabilities for applications in many fields, such as optical communications, microscopy, quantum optics, quantum information or microparticle manipulation [2]. In this work we introduce a new class of light beams that possess a unique property associated with a temporal variation of their OAM: the self-torque of light [3]. Despite the recent progress in the generation of designer ultrafast light waveforms with OAM [4-6], up to now there is no evidence for the creation of pulses with time-dependent OAM in any spectral regime. We define the self-torque of light as ℏξ = ℏdℓ(t)/dt, where ℏℓ(t) represents the inherent time-variation of a beam’s OAM. This definition has an analogy with mechanical systems that self-induce a variation of their angular momentum.
© 2019 IEEE
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