Optical vortices carry Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) through the interaction of a phase singularity and a circulating Poynting vector. The phase singularity is characterized by a helical wavefront and a central dark core where light intensity drops to zero because the phase is mathematically undefined, resulting in destructive interference. Rather than radiating outward like a standard beam, the energy flux spins continuously around this core, forming a transverse momentum ring that can exert mechanical torque on microscopic particles in a process called optical twisting or tweezing. This vortex state is further defined by quantized helicity, where the phase completes a full $2\pi$ evolution around the core to establish a stable topological charge.
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