| Title |
There are many ways to spin a photon: Half-quantization of a total optical angular momentum
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Science Advances, April 2016
|
| DOI | 10.1126/sciadv.1501748 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Kyle E. Ballantine, John F. Donegan, Paul R. Eastham |
| Abstract |
The angular momentum of light plays an important role in many areas, from optical trapping to quantum information. In the usual three-dimensional setting, the angular momentum quantum numbers of the photon are integers, in units of the Planck constant ħ. We show that, in reduced dimensions, photons can have a half-integer total angular momentum. We identify a new form of total angular momentum, carried by beams of light, comprising an unequal mixture of spin and orbital contributions. We demonstrate the half-integer quantization of this total angular momentum using noise measurements. We conclude that for light, as is known for electrons, reduced dimensionality allows new forms of quantization. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 105 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 19 | 18% |
| Ireland | 7 | 7% |
| Spain | 5 | 5% |
| Germany | 4 | 4% |
| Canada | 4 | 4% |
| Brazil | 2 | 2% |
| Chile | 1 | <1% |
| Ecuador | 1 | <1% |
| Mexico | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 8 | 8% |
| Unknown | 53 | 50% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 76 | 72% |
| Scientists | 26 | 25% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 2% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | <1% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 204 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 3 | 1% |
| Canada | 2 | <1% |
| Japan | 2 | <1% |
| United Kingdom | 2 | <1% |
| Colombia | 1 | <1% |
| France | 1 | <1% |
| India | 1 | <1% |
| Unknown | 192 | 94% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 58 | 28% |
| Researcher | 42 | 21% |
| Student > Master | 20 | 10% |
| Professor | 12 | 6% |
| Student > Bachelor | 10 | 5% |
| Other | 31 | 15% |
| Unknown | 31 | 15% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Physics and Astronomy | 121 | 59% |
| Engineering | 22 | 11% |
| Chemistry | 9 | 4% |
| Materials Science | 6 | 3% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 3 | 1% |
| Other | 10 | 5% |
| Unknown | 33 | 16% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 485. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 17 December 2021.
All research outputs
#54,435
of 25,377,790 outputs
Outputs from Science Advances
#664
of 12,215 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#1,087
of 312,741 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Science Advances
#14
of 133 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,377,790 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 12,215 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 120.2. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 94% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 312,741 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 133 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 89% of its contemporaries.