We briefly review the recent progress of theories and experiments on
spin-orbital-angular-momentum (SOAM)-coupled quantum gases. The coupling
between the intrinsic degree of freedom of particles and their external orbital
motions widely exists in universe, and leads to a broad variety of fundamental
phenomena both in the classical physics and quantum mechanics. Recent
realization of synthetic SOAM coupling in cold atoms has attracted a great deal
of attention, and stimulates a large amount of considerations on exotic quantum
phases in both Bose and Fermi gases. In this review, we present a basic idea of
engineering SOAM coupling in neutral atoms, starting from a semiclassical
description of atom-light interaction. Unique features of the single-particle
physics in the presence of SOAM coupling are discussed. The intriguing
ground-state quantum phases of weakly interacting Bose gases are introduced,
with emphasis on a so-called angular stripe phase, which has yet been observed
at present. It is demonstrated how to generate a stable giant vortex in a
SOAM-coupled Fermi superfluid. We also discuss topological characters of a
Fermi superfluid in the presence of SOAM coupling. We then introduce the
experimental achievement of SOAM coupling in 87Rb Bose gases and its first
observation of phase transitions. The most recent development of SOAM-coupled
Bose gases in experiments is also summarized. Regarding the controllability of
ultracold quantum gases, it opens a new era, on the quantum simulation point of
view, to study the fundamental physics resulted from SOAM coupling as well as
newly emergent quantum phases.Comment: A brief review on the recent progress of
spin-orbital-angular-momentum-coupled quantum gases. Comments are welcom