Inverse Faraday Effect with Linearly Polarized Laser Pulses
- Instituto de Plasmas e Fusao Nuclear--Laboratorio Associado, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Avenida Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal)
- Instituto de Plasmas e Fusao Nuclear-Laboratorio Associado, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Avenida Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal)
The inverse Faraday effect is usually associated with circularly polarized radiation; here, we show that it can also occur for linearly polarized radiation. The quasistatic axial magnetic field generated by a laser propagating in plasma can be calculated by considering both the spin and the orbital angular momenta of the laser pulse. A net spin is present when the radiation is circularly polarized and a net orbital angular momentum is present if there is any deviation from perfect rotational symmetry. The orbital angular momentum gives an additional contribution to the axial magnetic field that can enhance or reduce the effect usually attributed to circular polarization and strongly depends on the intensity profile of the Laguerre-Gaussian modes involving the azimuthal and radial mode numbers.
- OSTI ID:
- 21410919
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 3; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.035001; (c) 2010 The American Physical Society; ISSN 0031-9007
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Experimental evidence of the inverse Faraday effect in laser-plasma interaction and a miniature magnetic bottle
Kilo-Tesla axial magnetic field generation with high intensity spin and orbital angular momentum beams