  We develop the quantum theory of transverse angular momentum of light beams.
The theory applies to paraxial and quasi-paraxial photon beams in vacuum, and
reproduces the known results for classical beams when applied to coherent
states of the field. Both the Poynting vector, alias the linear momentum, and
the angular momentum quantum operators of a light beam are calculated including
contributions from first-order transverse derivatives. This permits a correct
description of the energy flow in the beam and the natural emergence of both
the spin and the angular momentum of the photons. We show that for collimated
beams of light, orbital angular momentum operators do not satisfy the standard
commutation rules. Finally, we discuss the application of our theory to some
concrete cases.
