Light–matter interaction empowered by orbital angular momentum: Control of matter at the micro- and nanoscale

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light is an important feature of structured electromagnetic fields exhibiting non-uniform spatial distribution. In contrast to a spin angular momentum (SAM) reflecting angular rotation of a polarization vector, OAM is the quantity that expresses the amount of dynamical rotation of a wavefront about an optical axis. In 1992 it was demonstrated that such rotation can be transferred to the microscale objects, initiating a novel research direction related to the OAM–light–matter interaction and opening the pathways for new technologies widely applied in physics, chemistry and biology. This review surveys recent progress in the field of interaction between singular optical radiation and matter covering such rapidly evolving application areas as laser material processing, optical tweezers, control of chirality of matter, and OAM-empowered linear and nonlinear effects — Raman scattering as well as Doppler, Faraday and Hall effects. OAM transfer at the atomic scale is also highlighted revealing the remarkable opportunities to modify the physics of ultrahigh-intense laser–plasma interaction. Finally, the so-called spatiotemporal optical vortices, optical vortices with phase and energy circulation in a spatiotemporal plane with a controllable purely transverse OAM, were discussed in terms of their great potential for new applications that would otherwise be impossible.