Orbital angular momentum and group representations

Clasine van Winter

Brian P. Anderson

Gabriel F. Calvo

An exact Wigner representation of optical spatial modes carrying orbital angular momentum is found in closed form by exploiting the underlying SU(2) Lie-group algebra of their associated Poincaré sphere. Orthogonality relations and observables of these states are obtained within the phase space picture. Development of geometric phases on mode transformations is also elucidated.

John Avery

Methods are presented for constructing eigenfunctions of the total orbital angular momentum operator of a many-particle system without the use of the Clebsch–Gordan coefficients. One of the equations derived in this paper is analogous to Dirac's identity for total spin; and through this equation, a connection is established between eigenfunctions of L2 and irreducible representations of the symmetric group Sn.