Dynamics of optical spin-orbit coupling in uniaxial crystals

We study theoretically and verify experimentally the detailed dynamics of spin-to-orbital angular momentum conversion for a circularly polarized Gaussian beam propagating along the optical axis of a uniaxial crystal. We extend the results to the case of white-light beams when each of the spectral components undergoes its own wavelength-dependent angular momentum conversion process. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America