Year: 2014
Type: preprint
Abstract: We address the problem of angular momentum decomposition of a free photon. We propose a natural and physical scheme for separating the total angular momentum operator for a free photon into an orbital part and a spin part with the hope that it solves this long-standing problem and it could provide a natural basis for further study of the problem of angular momentum decomposition of a gauge field system.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Author: Sun, Wei-Min
Institutions: Purple Mountain Observatory, Nanjing University
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1847861657