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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 99 » Issue 8
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 087701 (2007) [4 pages]

Utilization of Photon Orbital Angular Momentum in the Low-Frequency Radio Domain

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B. Thidé1,*, H. Then2, J. Sjöholm3, K. Palmer3, J. Bergman1, T. D. Carozzi4, Ya. N. Istomin5, N. H. Ibragimov6, and R. Khamitova6
1Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Ångström Laboratory, P.O. Box 537, SE-751 21 Uppsala, Sweden
2Institute of Physics, Carl-von-Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, D-261 11 Oldenburg, Germany
3Department of Astronomy and Space Physics, Ångström Laboratory, P.O. Box 515, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
4Astronomy and Astrophysics Group, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland, United Kingdom
5I. E. Tamm Theory Department, P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, 53 Leninsky Prospect, Moscow, 119991, Russia
6Department of Mathematics and Science, Research Centre ALGA: Advances in Lie Group Analysis, Blekinge Institute of Technology, SE-371 79 Karlskrona, Sweden

Received 21 May 2007; published 22 August 2007

We show numerically that vector antenna arrays can generate radio beams that exhibit spin and orbital angular momentum characteristics similar to those of helical Laguerre-Gauss laser beams in paraxial optics. For low frequencies (≲1  GHz), digital techniques can be used to coherently measure the instantaneous, local field vectors and to manipulate them in software. This enables new types of experiments that go beyond what is possible in optics. It allows information-rich radio astronomy and paves the way for novel wireless communication concepts.

© 2007 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.087701
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.087701
PACS:
84.40.Ba, 07.57.−c, 42.25.Ja, 95.85.Bh

*Also at: LOIS Space Centre, Växjö University, SE-351 95 Växjö, Sweden.

bt@irfu.se

 
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