Photons, phonons, and plasmons with orbital angular momentum in plasmas

Abstract

Exact eigen modes with orbital angular momentum (OAM) in the complex media of unmagnetized homogeneous plasma are studied. Three exact eigen modes with OAM are discovered, i.e., photons, phonons, and plasmons. It is found that an OAM photon can be excited by two familiar Bessel modes without OAM. For the phonons and plasmons, their OAM are carried by the electrons and ions. The OAM modes in plasmas and their characteristics can be explored for various potential applications in plasma physics and accelerator physics.