Beams of electromagnetic radiation carrying angular momentum: The Riemann-Silberstein vector and the classical-quantum correspondence

All beams of electromagnetic radiation are made of photons. Therefore, it is important to find a precise relationship between the classical properties of the beam and the quantum characteristics of the photons that make a particular beam. It is shown that this relationship is best expressed in terms of the Riemann-Silberstein vector -- a complex combination of the electric and magnetic field vectors -- that plays the role of the photon wave function. The Whittaker representation of this vector in terms of a single complex function satisfying the wave equation greatly simplifies the analysis. Bessel beams, exact Laguerre-Gauss beams, and other related beams of electromagnetic radiation can be described in a unified fashion. The appropriate photon quantum numbers for these beams are identified. Special emphasis is put on the angular momentum of a single photon and its connection with the angular momentum of the beam.Comment: To be published in the special issue of Optics Communications honoring Bruce Shor

Motion of vortex lines in nonlinear wave mechanics

We extend our previous analysis of the motion of vortex lines [I. Bialynicki-Birula, Z. Bialynicka-Birula and C. Sliwa, Phys. Rev. A 61, 032110 (2000)] from linear to a nonlinear Schroedinger equation with harmonic forces. We also argue that under certain conditions the influence of the contact nonlinearity on the motion of vortex lines is negligible. The present analysis adds new weight to our previous conjecture that the topological features of vortex dynamics are to a large extent universal.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. A, 4 page