Photons, phonons, and plasmons with orbital angular momentum in plasmas

TL;DR

This paper discovers and analyzes three exact eigenmodes with orbital angular momentum in unmagnetized plasma, revealing new ways to excite and utilize OAM modes in plasma physics and related fields.

Contribution

It introduces three novel eigenmodes with orbital angular momentum in plasma, including photons, phonons, and plasmons, and explains their excitation mechanisms.

Findings

Identified three exact eigenmodes with OAM in plasma

Demonstrated photon excitation via Bessel modes without OAM

Characterized OAM transfer in phonons and plasmons

Abstract

Exact eigen modes with orbital angular momentum (OAM) in the complex media of unmagnetized homogeneous plasma are studied. Three exact eigen modes with OAM are discovered, i.e., photons, phonons, and plasmons. It is found that an OAM photon can be excited by two familiar Bessel modes without OAM. For the phonons and plasmons, their OAM are carried by the electrons and ions. The OAM modes in plasmas and their characteristics can be explored for various potential applications in plasma physics and accelerator physics.