14 research outputs found
Internal flows and energy circulation in light beams
We review optical phenomena associated with the internal energy
redistribution which accompany propagation and transformations of monochromatic
light fields in homogeneous media. The total energy flow (linear-momentum
density, Poynting vector) can be divided into spin part associated with the
polarization and orbital part associated with the spatial inhomogeneity. We
give general description of the internal flows in the coordinate and momentum
(angular spectrum) representations for both nonparaxial and paraxial fields.
This enables one to determine local densities and integral values of the spin
and orbital angular momenta of the field. We analyse patterns of the internal
flows in standard beam models (Gaussian, Laguerre-Gaussian, flat-top beam,
etc.), which provide an insightful picture of the energy transport. The
emphasize is made to the singular points of the flow fields. We describe the
spin-orbit and orbit-orbit interactions in the processes of beam focusing and
symmetry breakdown. Finally, we consider how the energy flows manifest
themselves in the mechanical action on probing particles and in the
transformations of a propagating beam subjected to a transverse perturbation.Comment: 50 pages, 21 figures, 173 references. This is the final version of
the manuscript (v1) modified in accord to the referee's remarks and with
allowance for the recent development. The main changes are: additional
discussion of the energy flows in Bessel beams (section 4.1), a lot of new
references are added and the Conclusion is shortened and made more accurat