Photon Orbital Angular Momentum Spectroscopy

ORAL

Abstract

In addition to the photon spin responsible for the two polarization states, photons possess an orbital angular momentum (OAM) with values that are signed integer multiples of h-bar. We present a table-top spectroscopy experiment to generate, manipulate, and measure OAM states of photons from a laser. We create multiple beams with different OAM content using computer generated fork holograms implemented in 35mm film slides. After overlapping the beams into one combined beam, we use multipoint interferometer apertures to generate interference patterns on an imaging detector. Since the different OAM states are orthogonal these patterns sum. A decomposition of the summed pattern is performed using a simple algorithm which retrieves the intensities of each of the original OAM beams. We show several examples of OAM content retrieval via our method.~ This research seeks to perform OAM spectroscopy of natural light sources such as direct and scattered sunlight.

–

Authors

  • Jennifer Lumbres

    California State University Los Angeles

  • Sergey Savrasov

    Hartnell College, Cal State Univ- Long Beach, University of California, Davis, School of Natural Science, University of California, Merced, Seagate Technology, Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, University of California - Berkeley, University of Colorado, Boulder -- Dept of Physics, University of California, Berkeley -- Dept of Chemistry, UC Merced, California State University, Fresno, California Institute of Technology, California State University, Long Beach, La Canada Flintridge, CA, Department of Physics, Florida A\&M University, Tallahassee, FL-32307, Physical and Life Sciences, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA-94550, Cal State Univ East Bay, American River College, UC Santa Cruz, Notre Dame High School, Benedict College, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Tuskegee University, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Sonoma State University, Carnegie Observatories, University of California, Los Angeles, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, UK, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of Alabama, MPIfR, Bonn, Germany, Stanford University, University of California - Davis