Coherent control of angular momentum transfer in resonant two-photon light-matter interaction.

We show experimentally and theoretically that a polarization-shaped femtosecond laser pulse with a zero net angular momentum creates a net angular momentum in atomic rubidium during resonant two-photon excitation. The necessary conditions for the creation of a nonzero angular momentum as well as the excitation efficiencies are analyzed in the framework of second-order time-dependent perturbation theory.