Twisted shear Alfvén waves with orbital angular momentum

It is shown that a dispersive shear Alfvén wave (DSAW) in a magnetized plasma can propagate as a twisted Alfvén vortex beam carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM). We obtain a wave equation from the generalized ion vorticity equation and the magnetic field-aligned electron momentum equation that couple the scalar and vector potentials of the DSAW. A twisted shear Alfvén vortex beam can trap and transport plasma particles and energy in magnetoplasmas, such as those in the Earth's auroral zone, in the solar atmosphere, and in Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at University of California, Los Angeles. -- Highlights: ► We present dispersive shear Alfvén waves (DSAWs) with a twist. ► DSAWs carry orbital angular momentum. ► Twisted DSAWs can transport particles and energy in space and laboratory plasmas.