Spin textures of coherent photons with SU(4) symmetry

We show coherent photons with spin and orbital angular momentum have symmetry of special unitary group of degree four, SU(4), both theoretically and experimentally. We show the degree of polarisation could be a measure to characterise the quantum coherency of a spin state, which was significantly affected by the partial trace out of orbital degree of freedom. By changing the amplitudes of the classically entangled state, we observed a crossover from quantum Heisenberg spin to classical Ising spin. We also demonstrated projections of coherent states, which recover the coherency of the spin state, while the SU(4) state is projected to be a simple product state of SU(2)×SU(2). Based on the developed platform, we have explored spin texture of coherent photons, and found a unique spin profile reminiscent of the Bengal cat upon wrapping to a three-dimensional sphere. We have controlled the phase between singlet and triplet states and found the spin texture rotated upon increasing the phase. •Coherent photons with spin and orbital angular momentum have SU(4) symmetry.•Order parameters are shown on an SO(15) hyper-sphere.•A quantum–classical crossover was observed through the degree of polarisation.•A new spin texture, named a Bengal cat, was demonstrated.