Minimum uncertainty measurements of angle and angular momentum

Abstract

The uncertainty relations for angle and angular momentum are revisited. We use the exponential of the angle instead of the angle itself and adopt dispersion as a natural measure of resolution. We find states that minimize the uncertainty product under the constraint of a given uncertainty in angle or in angular momentum. These states are described in terms of Mathieu wave functions and may be approximated by a von Mises distribution, which is the closest analogous of the Gaussian on the unit circle. We report experimental results using beam optics that confirm our predictions.