Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Journal of Optics

The effect of scattering on single photon transmission of optical angular momentum

Davıd L. Andrews

Published Apr 27, 2011• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Schemes for the communication and registration of optical angular momentum depend on the fidelity of transmission between optical system components. It is known that electron spin can be faithfully relayed between exciton states in quantum dots; it has also been shown by several theoretical and experimental studies that the use of beams conveying orbital angular momentum can significantly extend the density and efficiency of such information transfer. However, it remains unclear to what extent the operation of such a concept at the single photon level is practicable—especially where this involves optical propagation through a material system, in which forward scattering events can intervene. The possibility of transmitting and decoding angular momentum over nanoscale distances itself raises other important issues associated with near-field interrogation. This paper provides a framework to address these and related issues. A quantum electrodynamical representation is constructed and used to pursue the consequences of individual photons, from a Laguerre–Gaussian beam, undergoing single and multiple scattering events in the course of propagation. In this context, issues concerning orbital angular momentum conservation, and its possible compromise, are tackled by identifying the relevant components of the electromagnetic scattering and coupling tensors, using an irreducible Cartesian basis. The physical interpretation broadly supports the fidelity of quantum information transmission, but it also identifies potential limitations of principle.

DOI
10.1088/2040-8978/13/6/064003

Related papers

Structured light, transmission, and scattering

Davıd L. Andrews

Numerous theoretical and experimental studies have established the principle that beams conveying orbital angular momentum offer a rich scope for information transfer. However, it is not clear how far it is practicable to operate such a concept at the single-photon level - especially when such a beam propagates through a system in which scattering can occur. In cases where scattering leads to photon deflection, it produces losses; however in terms of the retention of information content, there should be more concern over forward scattering. Based on a quantum electrodynamical formulation of theory, this paper aims to frame and resolve the key issues. A quantum amplitude is constructed for the representation of single and multiple scattering events in the propagation an individual photon, from a suitably structured beam. The analysis identifies potential limitations of principle, undermining complete fidelity of quantum information transmission.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Jan 10, 2011•5 citations

Engineering spin and orbital angular momentum interactions in a light beam: quantum and classical applications

Filippo Cardano

The angular momentum of light is a useful resource for many applications. In specific physical architectures it can be considered as the sum of two independent terms, the spin and the orbital components, in analogy to particle systems. The spin angular momentum is related to the polarization of the optical beam, that is the direction of the oscillating electric field, whereas the orbital angular momentum is associated with the spatial distribution of the field. Being independent, spin and orbital angular momenta have been discovered and explored in separate contexts for many years, while only recently it has been considered the possibility to address both quantities on the same beam (or individual photons). The interaction between these two quantities gives rise to complex structures of the electromagnetic field, or to the so called classical entanglement in the domain of single photons. The research presented in this work aimed to show that combining spin and orbital angular momenta in light beams or single photons may be a useful tool for a variety of applications, with particular interest to the case of architectures characterized by spin-orbit interaction. This concept was made concrete through the design and the realization of several experiments, in the framework of singular optics, foundations of quantum mechanics, quantum information theory and quantum simulation.

•Jan 1, 2015•0 citations

Atmospheric turbulence and free-space optical communication using orbital angular momentum of single photons

Carl Paterson

The well defined spin and orbital angular momentum states of photons offers a practical realization of quantum digits and a means of secure single-photon optical communication. The orbital angular momentum is associated with the spatial distribution of the wavefunction and the number of orbital angular momentum eigenstates is unlimited, giving the possibility of arbitrary base-N digits. In this paper, free-space optical communications using angular momentum states of single photons is investigated and in particular the effect of atmospheric turbulence on the angular momentum of the photons is modelled. The refractive index fluctuations in the atmosphere perturb the complex amplitude of a propagating beam so that the photons that were launched in an eigenstate of orbital angular momentum are no longer guaranteed to be in the original eigenstate after propagation. By considering the resulting wave as a superposition of angular momentum states, the probability of obtaining correct or incorrect measurements of the transmitted digit is calculated. The effect on a free-space optical communication using orbital angular momentum and the use of adaptive optics is discussed. The information capacity per photon is quantified and compared to that using polarization states for binary digits.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Nov 11, 2004•16 citations

Orbital angular momentum of photons and the entanglement of Laguerre–Gaussian modes

Mario Krenn, Mehul Malik, Manuel Erhard +1 more

The identification of orbital angular momentum (OAM) as a fundamental property of a beam of light nearly 25 years ago has led to an extensive body of research around this topic. The possibility that single photons can carry OAM has made this degree of freedom an ideal candidate for the investigation of complex quantum phenomena and their applications. Research in this direction has ranged from experiments on complex forms of quantum entanglement to the interaction between light and quantum states of matter. Furthermore, the use of OAM in quantum information has generated a lot of excitement, as it allows for encoding large amounts of information on a single photon. Here, we explain the intuition that led to the first quantum experiment with OAM 15 years ago. We continue by reviewing some key experiments investigating fundamental questions on photonic OAM and the first steps to applying these properties in novel quantum protocols. At the end, we identify several interesting open questions that could form the subject of future investigations with OAM.This article is part of the themed issue 'Optical orbital angular momentum'.

arXiv:1607.05114•Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences•Jan 9, 2017•166 citations

Orbitalangularmomentumofsinglephotonsforoptical communicationinaslantpa thatmosphericturbulence

Yixin Zhang, Zhao Gui-yang, Jiancai Xu +1 more

The well defined orbital angular momentum states of photons offer a practical realization of quantum digits and a means of secure single-photon optical communication. The orbital angular momentum is associated with the spatial distribution of the wave function and the number of orbital angular momentum eigenstates is unlimited, giving the possibility of arbitrary base-N digits. The free-space optical communications using angular momentum states of single photons is investigated and the effect of slant path atmospheric turbulence on the angular momentum of the photons is modeled with Rytov approximation and modified von Karman spectrum model of index-of-refraction fluctuation. The analytical modeling for the angular momentum scattering due to the atmospheric turbulence and the orbital angular momentum quantum number for photons propagation in slant path atmospheric turbulence are presented. The refractive index fluctuations in the atmosphere perturb the complex amplitude of a propagating beam so that the photons that were launched in an eigenstate of orbital angular momentum are no longer guaranteed to be in the original eigenstate after propagation.

•Jan 1, 2009•0 citations

An experimentalist's introduction to orbital angular momentum for quantum optics

Jacquiline Romero, Daniel Giovannini, Sonja Franke‐Arnold +1 more

Introduction Although the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light is often quantified in terms of ℓℏ per photon, one should recognise that this result can be derived directly from Maxwell's equations and is most certainly not an exclusively quantum property. Following the recognition of optical OAM in 1992 [1], the immediate thrust of experimental work was to observe OAM transfer to microscopic objects. These exciting experiments by Rubinsztein- Dunlop [2, 3] and others established that the predicted angular momentum was truly mechanical, but did not provide insight on OAM at the level of single photons. Laguerre- Gaussian modes were identified as being a natural basis set for describing beams with OAM, where their phase terms describe the helical phasefronts corresponding to an OAM of ℓℏ per photon. The polarisation of light has played an important historical role in the experimental investigation of quantum entanglement, quantum gate operations and quantum cryptography. A potential advantage of OAM is that it resides in a higher-dimensional state space which, as follows from the theory, is infinite-dimensional. One of the experimental challenges is to access a large number of these dimensions. In quantum communication, the most obvious advantage of high n -dimensional systems is the increased bandwidth [4], but qunits also lead to stronger security [5, 6]. An increase in the number of entangled quantum modes has also been shown to improve measures of nonlocality [7], to allow quantum computation with better fault tolerance [8] and to simplify quantum logic structures [9].

Cambridge University Press eBooks•Nov 8, 2012•0 citations
Schemes for the communication and registration of optical angular momentum depend on the fidelity of transmission between optical system components. It is known that electron spin can be faithfully relayed between exciton states in quantum dots; it has also been shown by several theoretical and experimental studies that the use of beams conveying orbital angular momentum can significantly extend the density and efficiency of such information transfer. However, it remains unclear to what extent the operation of such a concept at the single photon level is practicable—especially where this involves optical propagation through a material system, in which forward scattering events can intervene. The possibility of transmitting and decoding angular momentum over nanoscale distances itself raises other important issues associated with near-field interrogation. This paper provides a framework to address these and related issues. A quantum electrodynamical representation is constructed and used to pursue the consequences of individual photons, from a Laguerre–Gaussian beam, undergoing single and multiple scattering events in the course of propagation. In this context, issues concerning orbital angular momentum conservation, and its possible compromise, are tackled by identifying the relevant components of the electromagnetic scattering and coupling tensors, using an irreducible Cartesian basis. The physical interpretation broadly supports the fidelity of quantum information transmission, but it also identifies potential limitations of principle.
Numerous theoretical and experimental studies have established the principle that beams conveying orbital angular momentum offer a rich scope for information transfer. However, it is not clear how far it is practicable to operate such a concept at the single-photon level - especially when such a beam propagates through a system in which scattering can occur. In cases where scattering leads to photon deflection, it produces losses; however in terms of the retention of information content, there should be more concern over forward scattering. Based on a quantum electrodynamical formulation of theory, this paper aims to frame and resolve the key issues. A quantum amplitude is constructed for the representation of single and multiple scattering events in the propagation an individual photon, from a suitably structured beam. The analysis identifies potential limitations of principle, undermining complete fidelity of quantum information transmission.
The angular momentum of light is a useful resource for many applications. In specific physical architectures it can be considered as the sum of two independent terms, the spin and the orbital components, in analogy to particle systems. The spin angular momentum is related to the polarization of the optical beam, that is the direction of the oscillating electric field, whereas the orbital angular momentum is associated with the spatial distribution of the field. Being independent, spin and orbital angular momenta have been discovered and explored in separate contexts for many years, while only recently it has been considered the possibility to address both quantities on the same beam (or individual photons). The interaction between these two quantities gives rise to complex structures of the electromagnetic field, or to the so called classical entanglement in the domain of single photons. The research presented in this work aimed to show that combining spin and orbital angular momenta in light beams or single photons may be a useful tool for a variety of applications, with particular interest to the case of architectures characterized by spin-orbit interaction. This concept was made concrete through the design and the realization of several experiments, in the framework of singular optics, foundations of quantum mechanics, quantum information theory and quantum simulation.
The well defined spin and orbital angular momentum states of photons offers a practical realization of quantum digits and a means of secure single-photon optical communication. The orbital angular momentum is associated with the spatial distribution of the wavefunction and the number of orbital angular momentum eigenstates is unlimited, giving the possibility of arbitrary base-N digits. In this paper, free-space optical communications using angular momentum states of single photons is investigated and in particular the effect of atmospheric turbulence on the angular momentum of the photons is modelled. The refractive index fluctuations in the atmosphere perturb the complex amplitude of a propagating beam so that the photons that were launched in an eigenstate of orbital angular momentum are no longer guaranteed to be in the original eigenstate after propagation. By considering the resulting wave as a superposition of angular momentum states, the probability of obtaining correct or incorrect measurements of the transmitted digit is calculated. The effect on a free-space optical communication using orbital angular momentum and the use of adaptive optics is discussed. The information capacity per photon is quantified and compared to that using polarization states for binary digits.
The identification of orbital angular momentum (OAM) as a fundamental property of a beam of light nearly 25 years ago has led to an extensive body of research around this topic. The possibility that single photons can carry OAM has made this degree of freedom an ideal candidate for the investigation of complex quantum phenomena and their applications. Research in this direction has ranged from experiments on complex forms of quantum entanglement to the interaction between light and quantum states of matter. Furthermore, the use of OAM in quantum information has generated a lot of excitement, as it allows for encoding large amounts of information on a single photon. Here, we explain the intuition that led to the first quantum experiment with OAM 15 years ago. We continue by reviewing some key experiments investigating fundamental questions on photonic OAM and the first steps to applying these properties in novel quantum protocols. At the end, we identify several interesting open questions that could form the subject of future investigations with OAM.This article is part of the themed issue 'Optical orbital angular momentum'.
The well defined orbital angular momentum states of photons offer a practical realization of quantum digits and a means of secure single-photon optical communication. The orbital angular momentum is associated with the spatial distribution of the wave function and the number of orbital angular momentum eigenstates is unlimited, giving the possibility of arbitrary base-N digits. The free-space optical communications using angular momentum states of single photons is investigated and the effect of slant path atmospheric turbulence on the angular momentum of the photons is modeled with Rytov approximation and modified von Karman spectrum model of index-of-refraction fluctuation. The analytical modeling for the angular momentum scattering due to the atmospheric turbulence and the orbital angular momentum quantum number for photons propagation in slant path atmospheric turbulence are presented. The refractive index fluctuations in the atmosphere perturb the complex amplitude of a propagating beam so that the photons that were launched in an eigenstate of orbital angular momentum are no longer guaranteed to be in the original eigenstate after propagation.
Introduction Although the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light is often quantified in terms of ℓℏ per photon, one should recognise that this result can be derived directly from Maxwell's equations and is most certainly not an exclusively quantum property. Following the recognition of optical OAM in 1992 [1], the immediate thrust of experimental work was to observe OAM transfer to microscopic objects. These exciting experiments by Rubinsztein- Dunlop [2, 3] and others established that the predicted angular momentum was truly mechanical, but did not provide insight on OAM at the level of single photons. Laguerre- Gaussian modes were identified as being a natural basis set for describing beams with OAM, where their phase terms describe the helical phasefronts corresponding to an OAM of ℓℏ per photon. The polarisation of light has played an important historical role in the experimental investigation of quantum entanglement, quantum gate operations and quantum cryptography. A potential advantage of OAM is that it resides in a higher-dimensional state space which, as follows from the theory, is infinite-dimensional. One of the experimental challenges is to access a large number of these dimensions. In quantum communication, the most obvious advantage of high n -dimensional systems is the increased bandwidth [4], but qunits also lead to stronger security [5, 6]. An increase in the number of entangled quantum modes has also been shown to improve measures of nonlocality [7], to allow quantum computation with better fault tolerance [8] and to simplify quantum logic structures [9].