The Angular Momentum of Light

David L. Andrews is Professor of Chemical Physics at the University of East Anglia where he leads theoretical research on fundamental photonics and molecular energy transport. He is a Fellow of the SPIE, the Institute of Physics and of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Mohamed Babiker is Professor of Physics at the University of York and has previously held this role at the University of Essex. Professor Babiker has been researching light beams with orbital angular momentum for the past twenty years.

'This highly recommended book is suitable for physics graduate students and researchers who require an up-to-date source on light-carrying spin and orbital angular momentum. It provides a modern quantum mechanical explanation of how to measure and use light's angular momentum and its experimental techniques. The author's clear writing makes it easy to understand the physics and mathematics. Each chapter contains an introduction, theoretical physical and mathematical foundations, experimental techniques, and modern applications. The book is well-illustrated and includes pertinent references and an index. While light's energy and linear momentum date back to Maxwell, angular momentum will find numerous modern applications in the fields of optical trapping of particles with Bessel beams and quantum computing.' Barry R. Masters, Optics and Photonics News (osa-opn.org)

• Preface D. L. Andrews and M. Babiker; 1. Light beams carrying orbital angular momentum J. B. Götte and S. M. Barnett; 2. Vortex transformation and vortex dynamics in optical fields G. Molina-Terriza; 3. Vector beams in free space E. J. Galvez; 4. Optical beams with orbital angular momentum in nonlinear media A. S. Desyatnikov and Y. S. Kivshar; 5. Ray optics, wave optics and quantum mechanics G. Nienhuis; 6. Quantum formulation of angle and orbital angular momentum J. B. Götte and S. M. Barnett; 7. Dynamic rotational frequency shift I. Bialynicki-Birula and Z. Bialynicka-Birula; 8. Spin-orbit interactions of light in isotropic media K. Y. Bliokh, A. Aiello and M. A. Alonso; 9. Quantum electrodynamics, angular momentum and chirality D. L. Andrews and M. Babiker; 10. Trapping of charged particles by Bessel beams I. Bialynicki-Birula, Z. Bialynicka-Birula and N. Drozd; 11. Theory of atoms in twisted light M. Babiker, D. L. Andrews and V. E. Lembessis; 12. An experimentalist's introduction to orbital angular momentum for quantum optics J. Romero, D. Giovannini, S. Franke-Arnold and M. J. Padgett; 13. Measurement of light's orbital angular momentum M. P. J. Lavery, J. Courtial and M. J. Padgett; 14. Efficient generation of optical twisters using helico-conical beams V. R. Daria, D. Palima and J. Glückstad; 15. Self similar modes of coherent diffusion with orbital angular momentum O. Firstenberg, M. Shuker, R. Pugatch and N. Davidson; 16. Dimensionality of azimuthal entanglement M. van Exter, E. Eliel and H. Woerdman; Index.