Optical Spin Angular Momentum: Properties, Topologies, Detection and Applications

Spin angular momentum is a fundamental dynamical property of elementary particles and fields, playing a critical role in light–matter interactions. In optical studies, the optical spin angular momentum is closely linked to circular polarization. Research on the interaction between optical spin and matter or structures has led to numerous novel optical phenomena and applications, giving rise to the emerging field of spin optics. Historically, researchers primarily focused on longitudinal optical spin aligned parallel to the mean wavevector. In recent years, investigations into the spin–orbit coupling properties of confined fields—such as focused beams, guided waves, and evanescent waves—have revealed a new class of optical spin oriented perpendicular to the mean wavevector, referred to as optical transverse spin. In the optical near-field, such transverse spins arise from spatial variations in the momentum density of confined electromagnetic waves, where strong coupling between spin and orbital angular momenta leads to various topological spin structures and properties. Several reviews on optical transverse spin have been published in recent years, systematically introducing its fundamental concepts and the configurations that generate it. In this review, we detail recent advances in spin optics from three perspectives: theory, experimental techniques, and applications, with a particular emphasis on the fundamental physics of transverse spin and the resulting topological structures and characteristics. The conceptual and theoretical framework of spin optics is expected to significantly support further exploration of optical spin-based applications in fields such as optics imaging, topological photonics, metrology, and quantum technologies. Furthermore, these principles can be extended to general classical wave systems, including fluidic, acoustic, and gravitational waves.