Momentum distributions and probabilities of near-axis superkicks
Phys. Rev. A 114, 033103 – Published 4 September, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/hs7h-ftl9
Abstract
We present a purely theoretical, fully analytical momentum-space description of “superkick” momentum transfer to a two-level atom driven by a tightly focused, circularly polarized Laguerre-Gaussian vortex beam. Using the short-time excitation amplitude and an exact Fourier-transform treatment in the near-focus regime, we derive closed-form expressions for the excited-state wave function and its momentum distribution . This framework yields direct superkick diagnostics such as peak displacement and transverse-momentum moments, and enables a systematic comparison between opposite-handedness and same-handedness configurations, as well as a paraxial reference case. We show that tight focusing, through the longitudinal-field enhancement, strongly increases the near-axis excitation and makes superkick signatures most prominent in the opposite-handedness configuration, whereas the same-handedness and paraxial reference cases retain related transverse superkick structure but carry much smaller near-axis probability weight.