Majorana states for subluminal structured photons

TL;DR

This paper explores how structured photons with orbital angular momentum can exhibit subluminal group velocities in vacuum, explained by a projection effect, and reveals a Majorana-like relationship between OAM and velocity that could impact optical communication.

Contribution

It introduces a novel OAM/velocity relationship for hypergeometric beams, linking beam geometry to photon propagation speed, inspired by Majorana's theory.

Findings

v_g obeys an OAM/velocity relationship similar to Majorana's spin-mass relation

The observed subluminal velocities are due to projection effects, not actual slower photon speed

Potential applications in estimating OAM and optical time buffering

Abstract

The speed of light in vacuum, $c$, is a fundamental constant of nature. Photons belonging to a structured beam of finite transverse size, generated by a spatial light modulator, have been observed to travel with a group velocity, $v_g$, which is smaller than $c$ also when propagating in vacuum [1-3]. This is an effect that depends on the geometry of the beam. From quantum mechanical considerations, these photons must in any case propagate at the speed of light. This paradox can be resolved by taking into account a projection effect. What was measured in these experiments as group velocity was in fact its projection onto the beam propagation axis [4]. This depends on the divergence of the beams used in these experiments. We have found that for hypergeometric beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM), generated by sources with equal aperture [5-8], $v_g$ obeys an OAM/velocity relationship similar to that proposed by Majorana between spin and mass for bosonic and fermionic relativistic particles. This relationship, depending on the geometrical properties of the beam, can pave the way for an alternative estimation of OAM or to implement a time buffer in optical communications.