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arXiv · 1505.04992

Note on the helicity decomposition of spin and orbital optical currents

Andrea Aiello·M. V. Berry
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Abstract

In the helicity representation, the Poynting vector (current) for a monochromatic optical field, when calculated using either the electric or the magnetic field, separates into right-handed and left-handed contributions, with no cross-helicity contributions. Cross-helicity terms do appear in the orbital and spin contributions to the current. But when the electric and magnetic formulas are averaged ('electric-magnetic democracy'), these terms cancel, restoring the separation into right-handed and left-handed currents for orbital and spin separately.

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Andrea Aiello, M. V. Berry. 2015-05-19. Note on the helicity decomposition of spin and orbital optical currents. https://doi.org/10.1088/2040-8978%2F17%2F6%2F062001

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