Derivation of the Paraxial Form of the Angular Momentum of the Electromagnetic Field from the General Form

Abstract

It is shown how the standard forms for the spin and orbital components of the angular momentum of a paraxial wave of electromagnetic radiation are obtained from general expressions for the angular momentum that have been derived recently. This result will enable general expressions for angular momentum to be applied with confidence to the many configurations of electromagnetic fields that are more complicated than plane or paraxial waves. Show more