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The concept of angular momentum is ubiquitous to many areas of physics. Inclassical mechanics, a system may possess an angular momentum which can beeither transverse (e.g., in a spinning wheel) or longitudinal (e.g., for afluidic vortex) to the direction of motion. Photons, however, are well-known toexhibit intrinsic angular momentum which is longitudinal only: the spin angularmomentum defining the beam polarization and the orbital angular momentumassociated with a spiraling phase front. Here we show that it is possible togenerate a novel state of light that contains purely transverse angularmomentum, the analogue of a spinning mechanical wheel. We use an opticalnano-probing technique to experimentally demonstrate its occurrence in oursetup. Such a state of light can provide additional rotational degree offreedom in optical tweezers and optical manipulation.

The photonic wheel: demonstration of a state of light with purely transverse angular momentum