# Role of the absorption on the spin-orbit interactions of light with Si nano-particles

## TL;DR

This paper investigates how absorption affects the spin-orbit interaction of light when scattering off silicon nanoparticles, showing that SOI persists despite optical losses and can produce optical mirages exceeding electric dipolar scatterers.

## Contribution

It demonstrates that the spin-orbit interaction of light remains robust in high refractive index nanoparticles with absorption, expanding understanding of light-matter interactions.

## Key findings

- SOI persists despite optical losses in silicon nanoparticles
- Optical mirages can surpass those of electric dipolar scatterers
- Absorption does not significantly diminish the spin-orbit effects

## Abstract

The conservation of the photon total angular momentum in the incident direction in an axially symmetric scattering process is a very well known fact. Nonetheless, the re-distribution of this conserved magnitude into its spin and orbital components, an effect known as the spin-orbit interaction (SOI) of light, is still a matter of active research. Here, we discuss the effect of the absorption on the SOI in the scattering of a sub-wavelength Silicon particle. Describing the scattering process of a electric and magnetic dipole, we show via the asymmetry parameter that the SOI of light in the scattering of high refractive index nanoparticles endures in the presence of optical losses. This effect results in optical mirages whose maximum values surpass those of an electric dipolar scatterer.