Related papers: How light absorption modifies the radiative force …
When light hits a multilayer planar stack, it is reflected, refracted, and absorbed in a way that can be derived from the Fresnel equations. The analysis is treated in many textbooks, and implemented in many software programs, but certain…
The conventional formulation of power absorption, optical forces, and torques on dipolar particles involve lenghty and cumbersome expressions that obscure their shared physical origin. We apply a bispinor formalism that unifies these…
Absorption is usually expected to be detrimental to quantum coherence effects. However, the situation for complex absorption spectra has been little studied yet. We consider the resonance fluorescence of excitons in a semiconductor quantum…
We introduce a theory for the absorption of electromagnetic radiation by small metal particles, which generalises the random phase approximation by incorporating both electric and magnetic dipole absorption within a unified self-consistent…
Many adaptive optics systems operate by measuring the distortion of the wavefront in one wavelength range and performing the scientific observations in a second, different wavelength range. One common technique is to measure wavefront…
We experimentally demonstrate that the addition of partial lattice disorder to a thin-film micro-crystalline silicon photonic crystal results in the controlled spectral broadening of its absorption peaks to form quasi resonances; increasing…
The optical properties of a fixed atom are well-known and investigated. For example, the extraordinarily large cross section of a single atom as seen by a resonant photon is essential for quantum optical applications. Mechanical effects…
We show how it is possible to controllably rotate or align microscopic particles of isotropic nonabsorbing material in a TEM00 Gaussian beam trap, with simultaneous measurement of the applied torque using purely optical means. This is a…
An excited-state atom whose emitted light is back-reflected by a distant mirror can experience trapping forces, because the presence of the mirror modifies both the electromagnetic vacuum field and the atom's own radiation reaction field.…
Optical tweezers use light from a tightly focused laser beam to manipulate the motion of tiny particles. When the laser light is strongly focused, but still paraxial, its e/m field is characterized by a longitudinal component which is of…
Decades of work on beam deformation on reflection, and especially on lateral shifts, have spread the idea that a reflected beam is larger than the incident beam. However, when the right conditions are met, a beam reflected by a multilayered…
The resonant absorption of light by an ensemble of absorbers decreases when the resonance is inhomogeneously broadened, as only a fraction of the ensemble contributes to the absorption at any given optical frequency. Recovering the lost…
We investigate linear resonant absorption by a dense ensemble of molecules confined to a subwavelength layer in two geometries: (i) a free-standing film in homogeneous space and (ii) the same film placed at a controlled distance from a…
Magneto-Optical Traps have been used for several decades. Among fundamental mechanisms occuring in such traps, the magnitude of the multiple scattering is still unclear. Indeed, many experimental situations cannot be modeled easily,…
The phenomenon of the electromagnetic absorption by arbitrarily distributed discrete absorbers is analyzed from the photon point of view. It is shown that apart from the decrease in the intensity of the signal the net effect of absorption…
The interaction of light with optical and mechanical systems is influenced by material properties, geometrical configurations, and surface topographies. Designing these systems necessitates a careful balance of conflicting requirements,…
When an excess charge carrier is added to a one-dimensional (1D) semiconductor immersed in a polar solvent, the carrier can undergo self-localization into a large-radius adiabatic polaron. We explore the local optical absorption from the…
Structured light has emerged as an important tool to interrogate and manipulate matter at micron and sub-micron scale. One form of structured light is an optical vortex beam. The helical wavefront of these vortices carry orbital angular…
By measuring the transmission of near-resonant light through an atomic vapor confined in a nano-cell we demonstrate a mesoscopic optical response arising from the non-locality induced by the motion of atoms with a phase coherence length…
When an electromagnetic wave is obliquely incident on an inhomogeneous high density plasma, it will be absorbed resonantly as long as it is polarized in the plane of incidence and has an electric field component along the plasma electron…