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Updated: Dec 6, 2025

Spectral and Angle-Resolved Magneto-Optical Characterization of Photonic Nanostructures
Published on: November 21, 2019
Photon Hall Pinwheel Radiation of Angular Momentum by a Diffusing Magneto-Optical Medium
B A van Tiggelen1, G L J A Rikken2
11Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LPMMC, 38000 Grenoble, France, and Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LNCMI, EMFL, Toulouse/Grenoble, France.
Abstract:
We present a new optical effect that exchanges angular momentum between light and matter. The matter consists of an optically thick spherical, rigid agglomerate of magneto-optical scatterers placed in a homogeneous magnetic field. The light comes from an unpolarized, coherent central light source. The photon Hall effect induces a spiraling Poynting vector, both inside and outside the medium. Optical orbital angular momentum leaks out and induces a torque proportional to the injection power of the source and the photon Hall angle.
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