Finite Orbital Angular Momentum Research Articles

Numerical analysis of twisted ion-acoustic waves

Twisted ion-acoustic waves with finite orbital angular momentum (OAM) states are numerically investigated in a plasma containing electrons, positrons and dynamical ions. For this purpose, the well-known Vlasov–Poisson equations are solved together under the paraxial approximation. The perturbed quantities are assumed to follow the Laguerre–Gaussian type solutions and a generalized plasma response function for finite OAM states is derived. The generalized response function is numerically analyzed to investigate dispersion characteristics of the twisted ion-acoustic waves. Consequently, a computer code is developed which is based on the very famous numerical technique known as the Newton–Raphson method. The dependence of the (real) wave oscillation frequency and damping rate involving the twisted ion-acoustic waves is highlighted with different plasma parameters. It is found that the dynamics of ion-acoustic waves are strongly influenced by the twist parameter owing to OAM states. The results obtained in the present study are useful in the understanding of the particle transport and trapping phenomena.

The Longitudinal Plasma Modes of κ-Deformed Kaniadakis Distributed Plasmas Carrying Orbital Angular Momentum.

Based on plasma kinetic theory, the dispersion and Landau damping of Langmuir and ion-acoustic waves carrying finite orbital angular momentum (OAM) were investigated in the -deformed Kaniadakis distributed plasma system. The results showed that the peculiarities of the investigated subjects relied on the deformation parameter and OAM parameter . For both Langmuir and ion-acoustic waves, dispersion was enhanced with increased , while the Landau damping was suppressed. Conversely, both the dispersion and Landau damping were depressed by OAM. Moreover, the results coincided with the straight propagating plane waves in a Maxwellian plasma system when and . It was expected that the present results would give more insight into the trapping and transportation of plasma particles and energy.

Chirality of Valley Excitons in Monolayer Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides.

By enabling control of valley degrees of freedom in transition-metal dichalcogenides, valley-selective circular dichroism has become a key concept in valleytronics. Herein, we show that valley excitons, bound electron-hole pairs formed at the K or K̅ valleys upon absorption of circularly polarized light, are chiral quasiparticles characterized by a finite orbital angular momentum (OAM). We further formulate an ab initio many-body theory of valley-selective circular dichroism and valley excitons based on the Bethe-Salpeter equation. Besides governing the interaction with circularly polarized light, the OAM confers upon excitons a finite magnetization that manifests itself through an excitonic Zeeman splitting upon interaction with external magnetic fields. The good agreement between our ab initio calculations and recent experimental measurements of the exciton Zeeman shifts corroborates this picture, indicating that valley excitons can carry angular momentum even in their singlet state.

Generation of Magnon Orbital Angular Momentum by a Skyrmion-Textured Domain Wall in a Ferromagnetic Nanotube

We develop a theory for the dynamics of a magnon on top of a domain wall in a ferromagnetic nanotube. Due to the geometry of the sample, domain walls are classified by the Skyrmion charge which counts the winding number of magnetic textures. The domain wall with a non-zero Skyrmion charge generates an emergent magnetic field for magnons, which exerts the Lorentz force on moving magnons and thereby deflects their trajectories. This deflection is manifested as the generation of the finite orbital angular momentum of the magnon that traverses the domain wall. We obtain exact solutions for the magnon on top of the Skyrmion-textured domain wall and also their scattering properties with the domain wall with the aid of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. We show that there is a critical wavenumber for the total reflection of magnons and it is discretized by the Skyrmion charge of the domain wall. Our results show that the orbital angular momenta of magnetic textures and magnons can be intertwined in a curved geometry.

Observation of a single quantized vortex vanishment in exciton-polariton superfluids

We report the direct observation of a single quantized vortex vanishing from a microcavity exciton-polariton superfluid. Exciton-polariton vortices generated by a nonresonant Laguerre-Gaussian optical pumping beam reveal themselves in the energy-integrated emission image, representing a multimode entity consisting of the ground- and excited states. From the time-resolved spectroscopy measurements utilizing various Laguerre-Gaussian beam sizes, we find that the two lowest-energy states get populated and compete with each other, manifested by the change in their mutual population with the beam diameter. Furthermore, we study the transition from the excited state characterized by the finite orbital angular momentum (and a vortex in the direct space) to the ground state under pulsed excitation conditions. Our experimental findings are in excellent agreement with the numerical calculations employing the driven-dissipative Gross-Pitaevskii equation coupled with pumping reservoirs. Thus, our study provides an experimental and theoretical platform to investigate nonequilibrium vortex dynamics and manipulate multistate polariton condensates in semiconductor microcavities.

Electron trapping in twisted light driven graphene quantum dots

In this paper, we present a theoretical perspective concerning the scattering of electrons on a twisted light (TL) driven graphene quantum dot (GQD). Relatively recently discovered, TL is a novel type of electromagnetic field which carries a finite orbital angular momentum oriented on the propagation direction, besides its spin. This striking property of TL is due to its spatial structure. It is well known that the localization of electrons in a GQD is forbidden by the Klein tunneling, an effect that manifests by the perfect transmission of electrons through a potential barrier, regardless of its magnitude. Here we demonstrate that, for a suitable choice of the scattering regimes, there emerge scattering resonances characterized by trapping states of the incident electron inside the GQD for finite periods of time. The most interesting result is the prediction regarding the possibility to control the trapping times using a TL irradiation. Also, we mention that the investigation was performed for a frequency of the TL within the infrared spectrum.

Orbital angular momentum and current-induced motion of a topologically textured domain wall in a ferromagnetic nanotube

We theoretically study the current-induced dynamics of a domain wall in a ferromagnetic nanotube by developing a theory for the orbital angular momentum of a domain wall and the current-induced torque on it. Specifically, a domain wall with nontrivial magnetization winding along the circumference is shown to possess finite orbital angular momentum, which is proportional to the product of its Skyrmion charge and position, and the current is shown to exert a torque changing the orbital angular momentum of the domain wall and thereby drives it. The current-induced torque is interpreted as the transfer of orbital angular momentum from electrons to the domain wall, which occurs due to the emergent magnetic field associated with the Skyrmion charge. Our results reveal a hitherto unrecognized utility of the orbital degree of freedom of magnetic solitons.

Superconductivity in spin- 3/2 systems: Symmetry classification, odd-frequency pairs, and Bogoliubov Fermi surfaces

The possible symmetries of the superconducting pair amplitude is a consequence of the fermionic nature of the Cooper pairs. For spin-$1/2$ systems this leads to the $\mathcal{SPOT}=-1$ classification of superconductivity, where $\mathcal{S}$, $\mathcal{P}$, $\mathcal{O}$, and $\mathcal{T}$ refer to the exchange operators for spin, parity, orbital, and time between the paired electrons. However, this classification no longer holds for higher spin fermions, where each electron also possesses a finite orbital angular momentum strongly coupled with the spin degree of freedom, giving instead a conserved total angular moment. For such systems, we here instead introduce the $\mathcal{JPT}=-1$ classification, where $\mathcal{J}$ is the exchange operator for the $z$-component of the total angular momentum quantum numbers. We then specifically focus on spin-$3/2$ fermion systems and several superconducting cubic half-Heusler compounds that have recently been proposed to be spin-$3/2$ superconductors. By using a generic Hamiltonian suitable for these compounds we calculate the superconducting pair amplitudes and find finite pair amplitudes for all possible symmetries obeying the $\mathcal{JPT}=-1$ classification, including all possible odd-frequency (odd-$\omega$) combinations. Moreover, one of the very interesting properties of spin-$3/2$ superconductors is the possibility of them hosting a Bogoliubov Fermi surface (BFS), where the superconducting energy gap is closed across a finite area. We show that a spin-$3/2$ superconductor with a pair potential satisfying an odd-gap time-reversal product and being non-commuting with the normal-state Hamiltonian hosts both a BFS and has finite odd-$\omega$ pair amplitudes. We then reduce the full spin-$3/2$ Hamiltonian to an effective two-band model and show that odd-$\omega$ pairing is inevitably present in superconductors with a BFS and vice versa.

Orbitronics: Orbital currents in solids

In solids, electronic Bloch states are formed by atomic orbitals. While it is natural to expect that orbital composition and information about Bloch states can be manipulated and transported, in analogy to the spin degree of freedom extensively studied in past decades, it has been assumed that orbital quenching by the crystal field prevents significant dynamics of orbital degrees of freedom. However, recent studies reveal that an orbital current, given by the flow of electrons with a finite orbital angular momentum, can be electrically generated and transported in wide classes of materials despite the effect of orbital quenching in the ground state. Orbital currents also play a fundamental role in the mechanisms of other transport phenomena such as spin Hall effect and valley Hall effect. Most importantly, it has been proposed that orbital currents can be used to induce magnetization dynamics, which is one of the most pivotal and explored aspects of magnetism. Here, we give an overview of recent progress and the current status of research on orbital currents. We review proposed physical mechanisms for generating orbital currents and discuss candidate materials where orbital currents are manifest. We review recent experiments on orbital current generation and transport and discuss various experimental methods to quantify this elusive object at the heart of orbitronics —an area which exploits the orbital degree of freedom as an information carrier in solid-state devices.

Converting an array of edge dislocations into a multi-vortex beam.

We theoretically show how, using a cylindrical lens, a Gaussian beam with a finite number of parallel zero-intensity lines (edge dislocations) is transformed into a vortex beam that carries orbital angular momentum (OAM) and topological charge (TC). Remarkably, while the original beam is assumed to carry a non-zero OAM and have no TC, the latter is shown to appear during free-space propagation. Considering two parallel center-symmetric zero-intensity lines located as an example, we look into the dynamics of generating two intensity nulls at the double focal length: with increasing distance between the vertical zero-intensity lines, two optical vortices are first generated on the horizontal axis before converging at the origin and then diverging along the vertical axis. Irrespective of the between-line distance, such an optical vortex has ${\rm TC} = - {2}$ at any distance from the optical axis, except for the original plane. With changing distance between the zero-intensity lines, the OAM that the beam carries is changing, taking positive and negative values, or a zero value at a certain between-line distance. We also show that if the number of zero-intensity lines is infinite, a vortex beam with finite OAM and infinite TC is generated.

Astigmatic transformation of a set of edge dislocations embedded in a Gaussian beam

It is theoretically shown how a Gaussian beam with a finite number of parallel lines of intensity nulls (edge dislocations) is transformed using a cylindrical lens into a vortex beam that carries orbital angular momentum (OAM) and has a topological charge (TC). In the initial plane, this beam already carries OAM, but does not have TC, which appears as the beam propagates further in free space. Using an example of two parallel lines of intensity nulls symmetrically located relative to the origin, we show the dynamics of the formation of two intensity nulls at the double focal length: as the distance between the vertical lines of intensity nulls is being increased, two optical vortices are first formed on the horizontal axis, before converging to the origin and then diverging on the vertical axis. At any distance between the zero-intensity lines, the optical vortex has the topological charge TC=–2, which conserves at any on-axis distance, except the initial plane. When the distance between the zero-intensity lines changes, the OAM that the beam carries also changes. It can be negative, positive, and at a certain distance between the lines of intensity nulls OAM can be equal to zero. It is also shown that for an unlimited number of zero-intensity lines, a beam with finite OAM and an infinite TC is formed.

Spin-Orbit-Induced Ising Ferromagnetism at a van der Waals Interface.

Magnetocrystalline anisotropy, a key ingredient for establishing long-range order in a magnetic material down to the two-dimensional (2D) limit, is generally associated with spin-orbit interaction (SOI) involving a finite orbital angular momentum. Here we report strong out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy without orbital angular momentum, emerging at the interface between two different van der Waals (vdW) materials, an archetypal metallic vdW material NbSe2 possessing Zeeman-type SOI and an isotropic vdW ferromagnet V5Se8. We found that the Zeeman SOI in NbSe2 induces robust out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy in V5Se8 down to the 2D limit with a more than 2-fold enhancement of the transition temperature. We propose a simple model that takes into account the energy gain in NbSe2 in contact with a ferromagnet, which naturally explains our observations. Our results demonstrate a conceptually new magnetic proximity effect at the vdW interface, expanding the horizons of emergent phenomena achievable in vdW heterostructures.

Kinetic instability of twisted ion-acoustic mode with superthermal species of plasma

The electrostatic twisted ion-acoustic waves with finite orbital angular momentum states and associated kinetic instability are investigated in an electron-ion plasma. The plasma consisting of superthermal electrons and ions is modeled by using a non-gyrotropic Kappa distribution function in which the free energy source for wave excitation is provided by the relative directed motion of streaming electrons with respect to the ions. In the frame work of kinetic theory, the Vlasov-Poisson equations are employed to derive the expressions for dispersion relation and Landau damping rate under paraxial approximation. The results are analyzed for threshold condition of wave dispersion and instability growth rate in the presence of helical electric field structure. The relevance of study to the observed situations is also described.

Theory of the orbital moment in a superconductor

The chiral p-wave superconducting state is comprised of spin triplet Cooper pairs carrying a finite orbital angular momentum. For the case of a periodic lattice, calculating the net magnetisation arising from this orbital component presents a challenge as the circulation operator $\hat{\bf{r}} \times \hat{\bf{p}}$ is not well defined in the Bloch representation. This difficulty has been overcome in the normal state, for which a modern theory is firmly established. Here, we derive the extension of this normal state approach, generating a theory which is valid for a general superconducting state, and go on to perform model calculations for a chiral p-wave state in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. The results suggest that the magnitude of the elusive edge current in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ is finite, but lies below experimental resolution. This provides a possible solution to the long-standing controversy concerning the gap symmetry of the superconducting state in this material.

Non-Abelian geometric potentials and spin-orbit coupling for periodically driven systems

We demonstrate the emergence of the non-Abelian geometric potentials and thus the three-dimensional (3D) spin-orbit coupling (SOC) for ultracold atoms without using the laser beams. This is achieved by subjecting an atom to a periodic perturbation which is the product of a position-dependent Hermitian operator $\hat{V}\left(\mathbf{r}\right)$ and a fast oscillating periodic function $f\left(\omega t\right)$ with a zero average. To have a significant spin-orbit coupling (SOC), we analyze a situation where the characteristic energy of the periodic driving is not necessarily small compared to the driving energy $\hbar\omega$. Applying a unitary transformation to eliminate the original periodic perturbation, we arrive at a non-Abelian (non-commuting) vector potential term describing the 3D SOC. The general formalism is illustrated by analyzing the motion of an atom in a spatially inhomogeneous magnetic field oscillating in time. A cylindrically symmetric magnetic field provides the SOC involving the coupling between the spin $\mathbf{F}$ and all three components of the orbital angular momentum (OAM) $\mathbf{L}$. In particular, the spherically symmetric monopole-type synthetic magnetic field $\mathbf{B}\propto\mathbf{r}$ generates the 3D SOC of the $\mathbf{L}\cdot \mathbf{F}$ form, which resembles the fine-structure interaction of hydrodgen atom. However, the strength of the SOC here goes as $1/r^{2}$ for larger distances, instead of $1/r^3$ as in atomic fine structure. Such a longer-ranged SOC significantly affects not only the lower states of the trapped atom, but also the higher ones. Furthermore, by properly tailoring the external trapping potential, the ground state of the system can occur at finite OAM, while the ground state of hydrogen atom has zero OAM.

Kinetic plasma waves carrying orbital angular momentum.

The structure of Langmuir plasma waves carrying a finite orbital angular momentum is revised in the paraxial approximation. It is shown that the kinetic effects related to higher-order momenta of the electron distribution function lead to coupling of Laguerre-Gaussian modes and result in a modification of the wave dispersion and damping. The theoretical analysis is compared to the three-dimensional particle-in-cell numerical simulations for a mode with orbital momentum l=2. It is demonstrated that propagation of such a plasma wave is accompanied with generation of quasistatic axial and azimuthal magnetic fields which result from the orbital and longitudinal momenta transported with the wave, respectively.

Design and analysis of dual‐band antenna array generating dual‐mode vortex electromagnetic waves

AbstractAt present, the conventional generation method of orbital angular momentum (OAM) based on antenna array faces plenty of challenges, such as finite OAM mode number (topological charge number), single operating frequency, and so on. In this article, we propose a dual‐band working antenna array, fed by a dual‐band differential‐phase feeding network, to generate vortex electromagnetic waves with two different modes. The dual‐band slot antenna is used as the array's element, and the antenna array is codesigned with a differential‐phase feeding network working at 0.9 and 1.8 GHz, respectively. The simulation and measurement results, including the E‐field distribution in near field and radiation pattern in far field, both validate that the proposed antenna array could generate vortex electromagnetic fields with mode 1 at 0.9 GHz and mode 2 at 1.8 GHz. The proposed approach may provide a novel path for the generation and detection of vortex electromagnetic waves in a high‐performance wireless communication system in the future.

Dust oscillons with finite OAM and dust self-gravity effects

Dust oscillons, or dust waves carrying distinct states of orbital angular momentum (OAM), are studied in a self-gravitating unmagnetized dusty plasma, whose constituents are the inertialess electrons and ions with negatively charged mobile massive dust grains. Starting from the linearized fluid equations, an evolution equation in terms of dust density perturbation is derived. By using the beam type solution, the wave is assumed to propagate around the beam axis with slowly varying amplitude proportional to exp(ikz). It leads to a paraxial equation of the wave that admits more generalized Laguerre–Gaussian beam solutions within paraxial limits. It is also shown that dust oscillons carry finite amount of energy flux and OAM density and are modified significantly by the azimuthal mode index and group velocity including the dust Jeans effects. Numerically, the dust Jeans frequency, azimuthal phase angle, as well as radial and azimuthal mode indices have strong dependence on the profiles of dust density perturbations. The present findings may prove useful to understand the dynamics of dust oscillons caused by the Brillouin backscattering of laser beams in a self-gravitating dusty plasma.

Hadronic Paschen–Back effect

We find a novel phenomenon induced by the interplay between a strong magnetic field and finite orbital angular momenta in hadronic systems, which is analogous to the Paschen–Back effect observed in the field of atomic physics. This effect allows the wave functions to drastically deform. We discuss anisotropic decay from the deformation as a possibility to measure the strength of the magnetic field in high-energy heavy-ion collisions, which has not been measured experimentally. As an example we investigate charmonia with a finite orbital angular momentum in a strong magnetic field. We calculate the mass spectra and mixing ratios. To obtain anisotropic wave functions, we apply the cylindrical Gaussian expansion method. There we use different extension parameters for the parallel and transverse directions to the magnetic field.

Transporting the Optical Chirality through the Dynamical Barriers in Optical Microcavities

AbstractIn mixed phase space structures, the stable islands and chaotic sea are separated by dynamical barriers. Considering the small tunneling rate, intuitively, the properties of long‐lived resonances within stable islands are supposed to be less affected by the perturbations in chaotic sea. Here, the modifications on the chaotic sea which can be transported through dynamical barriers and strongly affect long‐lived resonances within stable islands are experimentally demonstrated. In waveguide‐connected quadruple microdisks (WCQMs), the finite orbital angular momentum and the propagation directions of long‐lived resonances within stable islands could be changed and controlled by the waveguides connecting to the chaotic sea. The numerical calculations and the corresponding 4 × 4 non‐Hermitian Hamiltonian theoretical model match the experimental results well and demonstrate the essential roles of asymmetrical scattering in the chaotic sea and chaotic‐to‐regular tunneling. This research will be interesting for fundamental studies on quantum chaos and practical applications in optical sensing.