Transverse spinning of unpolarized light

Eismann J, Nicholls LH, Roth DJ, Alonso MA, Banzer P, Rodriguez-Fortuno FJ, Zayats A, Nori F, Bliokh KY (2020)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2020

Journal

Nature Photonics Nature Publishing Group

DOI: 10.1038/s41566-020-00733-3

Abstract

It is well known that the spin angular momentum of light, and therefore that of photons, is directly related to their circular polarization. Naturally, for totally unpolarized light, polarization is undefined and the spin vanishes. However, for non-paraxial light, the recently discovered transverse spin component, orthogonal to the main propagation direction, is largely independent of the polarization state of the wave. Here, we demonstrate, both theoretically and experimentally, that this transverse spin survives even in non-paraxial fields (for example, focused or evanescent) generated from totally unpolarized paraxial light. This counterintuitive phenomenon is closely related to the fundamental difference between the meanings of 'full depolarization' for two-dimensional (2D) paraxial and 3D non-paraxial fields. Our results open an avenue for studies of spin-related phenomena and optical manipulation using unpolarized light.

Authors with CRIS profile

Jörg Eismann Lehrstuhl für Experimentalphysik (Optik) Peter Banzer Lehrstuhl für Experimentalphysik (Optik)

Involved external institutions

King’s College London GB United Kingdom (GB) Aix-Marseille University / Aix-Marseille Université FR France (FR) Riken Institute of Physical and Chemical Research / 理研 JP Japan (JP)

How to cite

APA:

Eismann, J., Nicholls, L.H., Roth, D.J., Alonso, M.A., Banzer, P., Rodriguez-Fortuno, F.J.,... Bliokh, K.Y. (2020). Transverse spinning of unpolarized light. Nature Photonics. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41566-020-00733-3

MLA:

Eismann, Jörg, et al. "Transverse spinning of unpolarized light." Nature Photonics (2020).

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