Duplex symmetry and its relation to the conservation of optical helicity

Barnett, Stephen M. and Cameron, Robert P. and Yao, Alison M. (2012) Duplex symmetry and its relation to the conservation of optical helicity. Physical Review A, 86 (1). 013845. ISSN 1050-2947 (https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.86.013845)

Abstract

Helicity is a familiar concept in particle physics and also appears in the physics of fluids and plasmas. In this paper, we present the optical helicity in a form readily applicable to both quantum and classical problems. We examine the relationship between the optical helicity and the more familiar optical spin and show that the conservation of helicity is an expression of the electric-magnetic symmetry for light. We show that helicity is distinct from Lipkin's 00-zilch; a simple relationship exists between the two only for monochromatic fields. It is only the optical helicity that has the correct dimensions of an angular momentum, thereby accurately describing the helicity of light. To illustrate the physical significance of the optical helicity, we consider a circularly polarized plane wave and the field emitted by a rotating electric dipole.

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• Item metadata

  Item type:	Article
  ID code:	41158
  Dates:	Date Event 30 July 2012 Published
  Subjects:	Science > Physics
  Department:	Faculty of Science > Physics
  Depositing user:	Pure Administrator
  Date deposited:	17 Sep 2012 15:01
  Last modified:	08 Apr 2024 20:08
  URI:	https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/41158