Physical Decomposition of Photon Angular Momentum

TL;DR

This paper proposes a natural and physical method to decompose the total angular momentum of a free photon into orbital and spin parts, addressing a long-standing problem in gauge field theory.

Contribution

It introduces a new scheme for angular momentum decomposition of photons that could serve as a basis for further research in gauge fields.

Findings

Proposes a natural scheme for photon angular momentum decomposition

Addresses the long-standing problem in gauge field systems

Provides a basis for future studies in angular momentum of gauge fields

Abstract

We address the problem of angular momentum decomposition of a free photon. We propose a natural and physical scheme for separating the total angular momentum operator for a free photon into an orbital part and a spin part with the hope that it solves this long-standing problem and it could provide a natural basis for further study of the problem of angular momentum decomposition of a gauge field system.