Photon orbital angular momentum and mass in a plasma vortex

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Published 4 June 2010 • Europhysics Letters Association
, , Citation F. Tamburini et al 2010 EPL 90 45001 DOI 10.1209/0295-5075/90/45001

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Author affiliations

1 Department of Astronomy, University of Padova - vicolo dell' Osservatorio 3, I-33122 Padova, Italy, EU

2 Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Physics in Space, Ångström Laboratory - P. O. Box 537, SE-751 21, Uppsala, Sweden, EU

3 IPFN and CFIF, Instituto Superior Técnico - Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal, EU

Dates

  1. Received 12 May 2010
  2. Accepted 19 May 2010
  3. Published
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0295-5075/90/4/45001

Abstract

We analyse the Anderson-Higgs mechanism of photon mass acquisition in a plasma and study the contribution to the mass from the orbital angular momentum acquired by a beam of photons when it crosses a spatially structured charge distribution. To this end we apply Proca-Maxwell equations in a static plasma with a particular spatial distribution of free charges, notably a plasma vortex, that is able to impose orbital angular momentum (OAM) onto light. In addition to the mass acquisition of the conventional Anderson-Higgs mechanism, we find that the photon acquires an additional mass from the OAM and that this mass reduces the Proca photon mass.

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Accepted by R. A. Treumann

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10.1209/0295-5075/90/45001