Orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light is an important feature of structured electromagnetic fields exhibiting non-uniform spatial distribution. In contrast to a spin angular momentum (SAM) reflecting angular rotation of a polarization vector, OAM is the quantity that expresses the amount of dynamical rotation of a wavefront about an optical axis. In 1992 it was demonstrated that such rotation can be transferred to the microscale objects, initiating a novel research direction related to the OAM–light–matter interaction and opening the pathways for new technologies widely applied in physics, chemistry and biology. This review surveys recent progress in the field of interaction between singular optical radiation and matter covering such rapidly evolving application areas as laser material processing, optical tweezers, control of chirality of matter, and OAM-empowered linear and nonlinear effects — Raman scattering as well as Doppler, Faraday and Hall effects. OAM transfer at the atomic scale is also highlighted revealing the remarkable opportunities to modify the physics of ultrahigh-intense laser–plasma interaction. Finally, the so-called spatiotemporal optical vortices, optical vortices with phase and energy circulation in a spatiotemporal plane with a controllable purely transverse OAM, were discussed in terms of their great potential for new applications that would otherwise be impossible.

光的轨道角动量 (OAM) 是结构化电磁场呈现非均匀空间分布的重要特征。与反映偏振矢量角旋转的自旋角动量 (SAM) 不同，OAM 是表示波前围绕光轴的动态旋转量的量。1992年证明这种旋转可以转移到微尺度物体上，开创了与OAM-光-物质相互作用相关的新研究方向，并为广泛应用于物理、化学和生物学的新技术开辟了道路。这篇综述调查了奇异光辐射与物质相互作用领域的最新进展，涵盖了激光材料加工、光镊、物质手性控制等快速发展的应用领域，OAM 支持的线性和非线性效应——拉曼散射以及多普勒、法拉第和霍尔效应。还强调了原子尺度的 OAM 转移，揭示了改变超高强度激光-等离子体相互作用物理的非凡机会。最后，讨论了所谓的时空光学涡旋，即在具有可控的纯横向 OAM 的时空平面中具有相位和能量循环的光学涡旋，讨论了它们在新应用方面的巨大潜力，否则是不可能的。