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It is shown that the momentum density of free electromagnetic field splits into two parts. One has no contribution to the net momentum due to the transversality condition. The other yields all the momentum. The angular momentum that is…
A recent proposal asserts that gravitational forces arise due to an interaction between matter and vacuum electromagnetic zero-point radiation. The present analysis demonstrates that forces induced on matter by zero-point radiation arise in…
We study the collective motion of Janus particles in a temperature or concentration gradient. Because of the torque exerted by an external or self-generated field, the particles align their axis on this gradient. In a swarm of self-driven…
Light beam with optical vortices can propagate in free space only with integer orbital angular momentum. Here, we invert this scientific consensus theoretically and experimentally by proposing light beams carrying natural non-integer…
Focused laser beams allow controlling mechanical motion of objects and can serve as a tool for assembling complex micro and nano structures in space. While in a vast majority of cases small particles experience attractive gradient forces…
We discuss the force and torque acting on spherical particles in an ensemble in the presence of a uniform AC electric field. We show that for a torque causing particle rotation to appear the particle must be absorptive. Our proof includes…
Light interacts differently with left and right handed three dimensional chiral objects, like helices, and this leads to the phenomenon known as optical activity. Here, by applying a polarization tomography, we show experimentally, for the…
Neutral particles can be guided and focussed using electric field gradients that focus in one transverse direction and defocus in the other, alternating between the two directions. Such a guide is suitable for transporting particles that…
The stationary gravitational field of two identical counter-moving beams of pure radiation is found in full generality. The solution depends on an arbitrary function and a parameter which sets the scale of the energy density. Some of its…
We propose a rigorous theory for the optical trapping by optical vortices, which is emerging as an important tool to trap mesoscopic particles. The common perception is that the trapping is solely due to the gradient force, and may be…
Recent advances in nanotechnology have created tremendous excitement across different disciplines but in order to fully control and manipulate nano-scale objects, we must understand the forces at work at the nano-scale, which can be very…
Light scattering is one of the most established wave phenomena in optics, lying at the heart of light-matter interactions and of crucial importance for nanophotonic applications. Passivity, causality and energy conservation imply strict…
An interesting aspect in the research of complex (dusty) plasmas is the experimental study of the interaction of micro-particles with the surrounding plasma for diagnostic purposes. Local electric fields can be determined from the behaviour…
New particle acceleration schemes open up exciting opportunities, potentially providing more compact or higher-energy accelerators. The AWAKE experiment at CERN is currently taking data to establish the method of proton-driven plasma…
A momentum of the photon in a surface plasmon could be hundreds and even thousand times higher as compared to a momentum of a photon in a free space. Such a photon could be scattered on an electron the later being supplied by a notable…
We report numerical results which show the achievement of net transport of self-propelled particles (SPP) in the presence of a two-dimensional regular array of convex, either symmetric or asymmetric, rigid obstacles. The repulsive…
Optical force and torque provide unprecedented control on the spatial motion of small particles. A valid scientific question, that has many practical implications, concerns the existence of fundamental upper bounds for the achievable force…
As an application of quantum fluid mechanics, we consider the drag force exerted on a sphere by an ultra-dilute gas. Quantum mechanical diffraction scattering theory enters in that regime wherein the mean free path of a molecule in the gas…
It is well known that acoustic fields can produce forces on single particles, however they can also induce inter-particle forces due to multiple scattering events. This multi-particle force -- here referred to as acoustic binding -- is…
Repulsion of nanoparticles, molecules and atoms from surfaces can have important applications in nanomechanical devices, microfluidics, optical manipulation and atom optics. Here, through the solution of a classical scattering problem, we…