Transfer of optical orbital angular momentum to a bound electron
| Autor: | Ferdinand Schmidt-Kaler, Christian Tomás Schmiegelow, Ulrich Poschinger, T. Ruster, Jonas Schulz, H. Kaufmann |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Physics
Angular momentum Multidisciplinary Science General Physics and Astronomy General Chemistry Bioinformatics 01 natural sciences General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Article Azimuthal quantum number 010309 optics Total angular momentum quantum number 0103 physical sciences Angular momentum of light Orbital motion Angular momentum coupling Orbital angular momentum multiplexing Orbital angular momentum of light Physics::Atomic Physics Atomic physics 010306 general physics |
| Zdroj: | Nature Communications, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-6 (2016) Nature Communications |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| Popis: | Photons can carry angular momentum, not only due to their spin, but also due to their spatial structure. This extra twist has been used, for example, to drive circular motion of microscopic particles in optical tweezers as well as to create vortices in quantum gases. Here we excite an atomic transition with a vortex laser beam and demonstrate the transfer of optical orbital angular momentum to the valence electron of a single trapped ion. We observe strongly modified selection rules showing that an atom can absorb two quanta of angular momentum from a single photon: one from the spin and another from the spatial structure of the beam. Furthermore, we show that parasitic ac-Stark shifts from off-resonant transitions are suppressed in the dark centre of vortex beams. These results show how light's spatial structure can determine the characteristics of light–matter interaction and pave the way for its application and observation in other systems. The spatial structure of vortex laser beams associates angular momentum to photons, which, in addition to their spin, can be used to tailor light-matter interactions. Here, the authors excite an atomic transition with a vortex laser beam, showing that the transfer of angular momentum modifies selection rules. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|