Separation of spin and orbital angular momentum states from cylindrical vector beams

Abstract

Cylindrical vector beams namely, radially polarized (RP) and azimuthally polarized (AP) light beams with inhomogeneous polarization distributions can be written as superposition of homogeneously polarized beams, each beam having opposite spin and orbital angular momentum (OAM) components. In this paper we describe the experimental extraction of any one or both of the angular momentum states by appropriate polarization selection. Since there are two spin angular momentum (SAM) states and two OAM states present in a single beam, the use of such beams in quantum computing is an attractive option. It is also possible to switch polarity of either their spin or orbital angular momentum and therefore quite suitable for applications in the field of free space optical communication.