Transverse angular momentum and geometric spin Hall effect of light.
We present a novel fundamental phenomenon occurring when a polarized beam of light is observed from a reference frame tilted with respect to the direction of propagation of the beam. This effect has a purely geometric nature and amounts to a polarization-dependent shift or split of the beam intensity distribution evaluated as the time-averaged flux of the Poynting vector across the plane of observation. We demonstrate that such a shift is unavoidable whenever the beam possesses a nonzero transverse angular momentum. This latter result has general validity and applies to arbitrary systems such as, e.g., electronic and atomic beams.
Aiello
Andrea
A
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Günter-Scharowsky-Strasse 1/Bau 24, 91058 Erlangen, Germany. Andrea.Aiello@mpl.mpg.de
Lindlein
Norbert
N
Marquardt
Christoph
C
Leuchs
Gerd
G