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

Optics Express

Poynting vector and orbital angular momentum density of superpositions of Bessel beams

Igor A. Litvin, Angela L. Dudley, Andrew Forbes

Published Aug 15, 2011• 93 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We study theoretically the orbital angular momentum (OAM) density in arbitrary scalar optical fields, and outline a simple approach using only a spatial light modulator to measure this density. We demonstrate the theory in the laboratory by creating superpositions of non-diffracting Bessel beams with digital holograms, and find that the OAM distribution in the superposition field matches the predicted values. Knowledge of the OAM distribution has relevance in optical trapping and tweezing, and quantum information processing.

DOI
10.1364/oe.19.016760

Related papers

Detection of orbital angular momentum superposition photon states using hologram and path interferometer

Yoko Miyamoto, Mitsuo Wada Takeda, Daisuke Kawase +3 more

Detection of photons in orbital angular momentum (OAM) superposition states is crucial to verification of OAM entanglement. In the past this has been realized by laterally shifting a hologram designed to remove a charge 1 phase singularity at its center. Such a laterally shifted hologram converts a beam with an off-center singularity (similar to that created by superposing an m = 0 beam and an m = 1 beam, where in is the OAM mode number) into a Gaussian beam, which is then filtered through a single mode fiber (SMF). However, it has been shown that a photon detected by this method is not a simple superposition of a photon in the m = 0 Gaussian mode and the m = 1 mode detected with an unshifted hologram, making it necessary to apply complicated analysis. One problem is that the radial distributions of the detected m = 0 and 1 components as determined by the SMF change as the hologram is shifted. Another, possibly more serious problem is the mixing of other OAM components. To overcome this problem we propose a new scheme for the detection of OAM superposition states consisting of a hologram and a path interferometer. The hologram is designed so that the output is equally distributed between the 0th and 1st order diffraction beams. The 0th order is the input beam itself, whose m = 0 Gaussian component is filtered through an SMF. In the 1st order beam the m = 1 component is converted to m = 0 and is filtered through a second SMF. The filtered beams now have the same spatial distribution, and can be superposed by a beam splitter. By inserting attenuators and phase modulators within the interferometer, superpositions with varying amplitude ratios and relative phases can be detected without shifting the hologram.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)•Jun 1, 2007•0 citations

Probing Higher Orbital Angular Momentum of Laguerre-Gaussian Beams via Diffraction through a Translated Single Slit

Jadze Princeton Narag, Nathaniel Hermosa

The orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light has become a central topic in quantum information and optical communication. In applications OAM is typically probed by observing a beam's diffraction through binary amplitude and phase masks. Distinguishing the different OAM states of the beam is usually difficult, though, so here the authors program a digital micromirror array to shift the setup's slit transversely, to exploit the unique phase of an OAM beam. By observing how diffraction varies as the slit changes, one can probe higher OAM values than usual, allowing access to theoretically unlimited OAM states for high-dimensional quantum systems, or for multiplexing in communication.

arXiv:1811.10903•Physical Review Applied•May 9, 2019•37 citations

Micromanipulation with Bessel beams: studies of angular momentum and reconstruction

David McGloin, Veneranda G. Garces, Kishan Dholakia

Bessel beams have a number of properties that make them useful for optical manipulation. These include a central core which does not diffract over a characteristic distance, the reconstruction of the cross sectional intensity around obstacles and the ability of the beams to possess orbital angular momentum. Here we examine the utility of the Bessel beam to quantitatively examine the transfer of spin and orbital angular momentum to particle trapped away from the beam axis. We show the simultaneous transfer of orbital and spin angular momentum to an off-axis particle. We experimentally study how both the spin and orbital angular momentum of light behaves upon passage through microscopic optically trapped particles. Particles trapped with Gaussian and, separately, Bessel light beams in two spatially distinct sample chambers are studied with trapped objects in the first chamber acting as distorting obstacles. We examine the differences between Bessel beams and Gaussian beams in such experiments. We also show how the Bessel beam can be used to simultaneously trap particles that can be as much as 1cm away from each other. We discuss applications of these results and suggest other topics where the Bessel beam may be of use.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Oct 18, 2004•0 citations

Free-space orbital angular momentum division multiplexing with Bessel beams

Alberto Gatto, Matteo Tacca, Paolo Martelli +2 more

We present an apparatus for multiplexing and demultiplexing free-space beams carrying different values of orbital angular momentum (OAM), at a wavelength of 633 nm. We have considered nondiffracting Bessel beams of order from 0 to 3, produced by means of suitable binary-amplitude computer-generated holograms and carrying an OAM per photon directly proportional to the beam order. The effectiveness of the OAM division multiplexing technique has been experimentally verified by monitoring the output ports of a demultiplexing interferometer with rotated Dove prisms in the arms. This interferometer is capable of discriminating the even-order Bessel beams from the odd-order ones.

Journal of Optics•Apr 28, 2011•50 citations

Quantum communication coding based on orbital angular momentum of light

Xizheng Ke

The nondiffracting higher-order Bessel beams carry the orbital angular momentum(OAM). During free propagation,their transverse intensity profile remains nearly invariant in a range.The beam comprises the topological charge l helical phasefronts and carries an orbital angular momentum of lh per photon.The angular momentum number carried by the photon in each eigenmode is represented by l, and the eigenstates |l〉can generate multidimensional quantum entangled states.A method of optical communication is presented that encodes information in two orthogonal orbital angular momentum states based on higher-order Bessel beams.Each photon carries OAM states of information,which can increase the key generation rate of the protocol,and offer a quantum solution for increase of the optical communication distance.

Chinese Journal of Quantum Electronics•Jan 1, 2010•1 citation

Orbital angular momentum of a high-order Bessel light beam

Karen P. Volke-Sepúlveda, Veneranda G. Garces, S. Chávez-Cerda +2 more

The orbital angular momentum density of Bessel beams is calculated explicitly within a rigorous vectorial treatment. This allows us to investigate some aspects that have not been analysed previously, such as the angular momentum content of azimuthally and radially polarized beams. Furthermore, we demonstrate experimentally the mechanical transfer of orbital angular momentum to trapped particles in optical tweezers using a high-order Bessel beam. We set transparent particles of known dimensions into rotation, where the sense of rotation can be reversed by changing the sign of the singularity. Quantitative results are obtained for rotation rates. This paper's animations are available from the Multimedia Enhancements page.

Journal of Optics B Quantum and Semiclassical Optics•Mar 28, 2002•429 citations
We study theoretically the orbital angular momentum (OAM) density in arbitrary scalar optical fields, and outline a simple approach using only a spatial light modulator to measure this density. We demonstrate the theory in the laboratory by creating superpositions of non-diffracting Bessel beams with digital holograms, and find that the OAM distribution in the superposition field matches the predicted values. Knowledge of the OAM distribution has relevance in optical trapping and tweezing, and quantum information processing.
Detection of photons in orbital angular momentum (OAM) superposition states is crucial to verification of OAM entanglement. In the past this has been realized by laterally shifting a hologram designed to remove a charge 1 phase singularity at its center. Such a laterally shifted hologram converts a beam with an off-center singularity (similar to that created by superposing an m = 0 beam and an m = 1 beam, where in is the OAM mode number) into a Gaussian beam, which is then filtered through a single mode fiber (SMF). However, it has been shown that a photon detected by this method is not a simple superposition of a photon in the m = 0 Gaussian mode and the m = 1 mode detected with an unshifted hologram, making it necessary to apply complicated analysis. One problem is that the radial distributions of the detected m = 0 and 1 components as determined by the SMF change as the hologram is shifted. Another, possibly more serious problem is the mixing of other OAM components. To overcome this problem we propose a new scheme for the detection of OAM superposition states consisting of a hologram and a path interferometer. The hologram is designed so that the output is equally distributed between the 0th and 1st order diffraction beams. The 0th order is the input beam itself, whose m = 0 Gaussian component is filtered through an SMF. In the 1st order beam the m = 1 component is converted to m = 0 and is filtered through a second SMF. The filtered beams now have the same spatial distribution, and can be superposed by a beam splitter. By inserting attenuators and phase modulators within the interferometer, superpositions with varying amplitude ratios and relative phases can be detected without shifting the hologram.
The orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light has become a central topic in quantum information and optical communication. In applications OAM is typically probed by observing a beam's diffraction through binary amplitude and phase masks. Distinguishing the different OAM states of the beam is usually difficult, though, so here the authors program a digital micromirror array to shift the setup's slit transversely, to exploit the unique phase of an OAM beam. By observing how diffraction varies as the slit changes, one can probe higher OAM values than usual, allowing access to theoretically unlimited OAM states for high-dimensional quantum systems, or for multiplexing in communication.
Bessel beams have a number of properties that make them useful for optical manipulation. These include a central core which does not diffract over a characteristic distance, the reconstruction of the cross sectional intensity around obstacles and the ability of the beams to possess orbital angular momentum. Here we examine the utility of the Bessel beam to quantitatively examine the transfer of spin and orbital angular momentum to particle trapped away from the beam axis. We show the simultaneous transfer of orbital and spin angular momentum to an off-axis particle. We experimentally study how both the spin and orbital angular momentum of light behaves upon passage through microscopic optically trapped particles. Particles trapped with Gaussian and, separately, Bessel light beams in two spatially distinct sample chambers are studied with trapped objects in the first chamber acting as distorting obstacles. We examine the differences between Bessel beams and Gaussian beams in such experiments. We also show how the Bessel beam can be used to simultaneously trap particles that can be as much as 1cm away from each other. We discuss applications of these results and suggest other topics where the Bessel beam may be of use.
We present an apparatus for multiplexing and demultiplexing free-space beams carrying different values of orbital angular momentum (OAM), at a wavelength of 633 nm. We have considered nondiffracting Bessel beams of order from 0 to 3, produced by means of suitable binary-amplitude computer-generated holograms and carrying an OAM per photon directly proportional to the beam order. The effectiveness of the OAM division multiplexing technique has been experimentally verified by monitoring the output ports of a demultiplexing interferometer with rotated Dove prisms in the arms. This interferometer is capable of discriminating the even-order Bessel beams from the odd-order ones.
The nondiffracting higher-order Bessel beams carry the orbital angular momentum(OAM). During free propagation,their transverse intensity profile remains nearly invariant in a range.The beam comprises the topological charge l helical phasefronts and carries an orbital angular momentum of lh per photon.The angular momentum number carried by the photon in each eigenmode is represented by l, and the eigenstates |l〉can generate multidimensional quantum entangled states.A method of optical communication is presented that encodes information in two orthogonal orbital angular momentum states based on higher-order Bessel beams.Each photon carries OAM states of information,which can increase the key generation rate of the protocol,and offer a quantum solution for increase of the optical communication distance.
The orbital angular momentum density of Bessel beams is calculated explicitly within a rigorous vectorial treatment. This allows us to investigate some aspects that have not been analysed previously, such as the angular momentum content of azimuthally and radially polarized beams. Furthermore, we demonstrate experimentally the mechanical transfer of orbital angular momentum to trapped particles in optical tweezers using a high-order Bessel beam. We set transparent particles of known dimensions into rotation, where the sense of rotation can be reversed by changing the sign of the singularity. Quantitative results are obtained for rotation rates. This paper's animations are available from the Multimedia Enhancements page.