Abstract
By means of the Helmholtz theorem on the decomposition of vector fields, the angular momentum of the classical electromagnetic field is decomposed, in a general and manifestly gauge invariant manner, into a spin component and an orbital component. The method is applied to linearly and circularly polarized plane waves in their classical and quantum forms.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 1145-1154 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of Modern Optics |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 20 May 2005 |