Torque equations for spin and orbital angular momenta of radiation fields and Faraday effect

Abstract

The spin angular momentum S of light has never been linked to the Faraday rotation of light traveling in an optically active medium possessing a rotational invariance of a crystal, because there was no helicity term associated with the phase shift in the previous torque equation for S . In order to relate the change in S with time to the Faraday rotation, therefore, we derived an exact torque equation for S . As a result, a magnetic helicity term appeared in a new torque equation for S , so that one-half of the phase shift derived from the helicity term was equivalent to the Faraday rotation angle. However, the orbital angular momentum L had no relation to the Faraday rotation. It was thus clarified that the change in S with time is related to the Faraday rotation angle of light traveling in an optically active medium, owing to the appearance of the helicity term without a rotational invariance around the optical axis. It was also demonstrated theoretically that the Faraday rotation is accompanied by a torque acting on the crystal so that the total angular momentum of light and matter is conserved.