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.2022 Jan 21;8(3):eabm1295.
doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abm1295. Epub 2022 Jan 21.

Field theory spin and momentum in water waves

Affiliations

Field theory spin and momentum in water waves

Konstantin Y Bliokh et al. Sci Adv..

Abstract

Spin is a fundamental yet nontrivial intrinsic angular momentum property of quantum particles or fields, which appears within relativistic field theory. The spin density in wave fields is described by the theoretical Belinfante-Rosenfeld construction based on the difference between the canonical and kinetic momentum densities. These quantities are usually considered as abstract and non-observable per se. Here, we demonstrate, both theoretically and experimentally, that the Belinfante-Rosenfeld construction naturally arises in gravity (water surface) waves. There, the canonical momentum is associated with the generalized Stokes drift phenomenon, while the spin is generated by subwavelength circular motion of water particles. Thus, we directly observe these fundamental field theory properties as microscopic mechanical properties of a classical wave system. Our findings shed light onto the nature of spin and momentum in wave fields, demonstrate the universality of relativistic field theory concepts, and offer a new platform for their studies.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.. The canonical momentum and spin densities in the interference of two gravity waves.
(A) Schematic of the experimental setup for the observation of the particle motion in interfering water surface waves. (B) Spin and momentum properties of two interfering gravity waves with equal frequencies, amplitudes, and orthogonal wave vectorsk1 andk2. The theoretical plot shows the distributions of the canonical momentum densityP and spin densityS (Table 1). Numerical and experimental plots depict trajectories of microscopic particles for three wave periods 6π/ω. The Stokes drift of the particles and their elliptical motion correspond to the canonical momentum and spin, respectively. Parameters arex˜=2 kx,y˜=2 k y, and ω/2π = 6 Hz. a.u., arbitrary units.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.. Frequency dependencies of the Stokes drift and the microscopic orbits in interfering gravity waves from Fig. 1.
The experimentally measured Stokes drift velocity grows linearly with the wave frequency and depends on the positionx˜=2 k x. The radii of the circular motion of water particles at the maxima of the spin density are inversely proportional to the wave frequency. These dependences are in agreement with theoretical predictions based on the canonical momentum and spin densities Eqs. 2 to 5.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.. Canonical momentum and spin densities in the interference of two standing gravity waves.
Same as in Fig. 1 but for two interfering orthogonal standing waves with equal frequencies and amplitudes (i.e., equivalently, four propagating plane waves with the wave vectorsk1,2,3,4). Parameters arex˜=kx,y˜=ky, and ω/2π = 5.3 Hz.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.. Water wave analog of the spin Hall effect.
Experimentally measured trajectories of water particles in two interfering waves, same as in Fig. 1B, but for a longer period of time (about 10 wave periods). The forward propagation of spinning particles due to the Stokes drift is accompanied by the transverse splitting of oppositely spinning particles.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Uhlenbeck G. E., Goudsmit S., Spinning electrons and the structure of spectra. Nature 117, 264–265 (1926).
    1. Spin,Nature Milestones S5–S20 (2008);https://www.nature.com/collections/idgejiafca/#:~:text=The%20Milestones%...
    1. V. B. Berestetskii, E. M. Lifshitz, L. P. Pitaevskii,Quantum Electrodynamics (1982).
    1. Belinfante F. J., On the current and the density of the electric charge, the energy, the linear momentum and the angular momentum of arbitrary fields. Physica 7, 449–474 (1940).
    1. Rosenfeld L., On the energy-momentum tensor. Memoirs Acad. Roy. de Belgique 18, 1–30 (1940).

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