Twisted waves in a magnetoplasma (Vol. 48, No. 3)

In recent years, the properties of twisted light beams have been widely explored. In particular, it was realized that twisted laser beams are able to excite twisted density perturbations in a plasma, and that these density perturbations are indeed new forms of twisted waves. Each twisted wave solution is characterized by a topological charge. A further step in the understanding of twisted light was recently made, by studying twisted wave solutions in a magnetized plasma. This leads to a variety of twisted wave solutions, both electrostatic and electromagnetic, depending on the angle of propagation with respect to the static magnetic field. These waves can also be seen as quasi-particles, carrying an intrinsic angular momentum, which is determined by the value of their topological charge.

Furthermore, the kinetic description of a gas of such quasi-particles can also be established. This leads to a generalized concept of plasma turbulence, made of a gas of several types of twisted quasi-particles. An example of application was considered, where two twisted modes with different topological charge interact with each other, exchanging energy and angular momentum inside the plasma.

J. T. Mendonça and J. P. S. Bizarro, Twisted waves in a magnetized plasma, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 59, 054003 (2017)
[Abstract]