Geometric Spin Hall Effect of Light

TL;DR

This paper introduces the geometric spin Hall effect of light, a spin-dependent shift in the beam's position observed when a polarized Gaussian beam is viewed in a non-parallel reference frame, linked to transverse angular momentum.

Contribution

It reveals a new, unavoidable spin-dependent shift phenomenon in polarized light beams related to their transverse angular momentum.

Findings

The effect occurs when the reference frame is not aligned with the beam's propagation.

The shift is spin-dependent and akin to the spin Hall effect of light.

It is inherent for beams with nonzero transverse angular momentum.

Abstract

We describe a novel phenomenon occurring when a polarized Gaussian beam of light is observed in a Cartesian reference frame whose axes are not parallel to the direction of propagation of the beam. Such phenomenon amounts to an intriguing spin-dependent shift of the position of the center of the beam, with manners akin to the spin Hall effect of light. We demonstrate that this effect is unavoidable when the light beam possesses a nonzero transverse angular momentum.