Related papers: Photo-Motile Structures
Materials of which the optical response is determined by their structure are of much interest both for their fundamental properties and applications. Examples range from simple gratings to photonic crystals. Obtaining control over the…
We observe effects of collective atomic motion in a one-dimensional optical lattice coupled to an optomechanical system. In this hybrid atom-optomechanical system, the lattice light generates a coupling between the lattice atoms as well as…
Photo-plasticity in semiconductors, wherein their mechanical properties such as strength, hardness and ductility are influenced by light exposure, has been reported for several decades. Although such phenomena have drawn significant…
Cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers have interesting and potentially very useful photonic properties. In an ideal monodomain configuration of these materials, one finds a Bragg-reflection of light in a narrow wavelength range and a…
We consider sedimented at a solid wall particles that are immersed in water containing small additives of photosensitive ionic surfactants. It is shown that illumination with an appropriate wavelength, a beam intensity profile, shape and…
We show that the mechanical effect of light on the orientational ordering of the crystalline axis of a mesophase can be used to control the dynamics of the optical response of liquid crystal infiltrated photonic structures. The…
Photomechanically active materials undergo reversible deformation on illumination, making them ideal for remote, tether-free actuation. Much of the work on these materials has focused on one-dimensional structures, such as strips. In this…
Optothermal interaction of active colloidal matter can facilitate environmental cues which can influence the dynamics of active soft matter systems. The optically induced thermal effect can be harnessed to study non-equilibrium…
Active elastomeric liquid crystal particles with initial cylindrical shapes are obtained by means of soft lithography and polymerization in a strong magnetic field. Gold nanocrystals infiltrated into these particles mediate energy transfer…
When atoms come together and bond, we call these new states molecules, and their properties determine many aspects of our daily life. Strangely enough, it is conceivable for light and molecules to bond, creating new hybrid light-matter…
Advances in manipulating the structure of optical beams enable the study of interaction between structured light and low-dimensional semiconductor systems. We explore the photocurrents in two-dimensional systems excited by such…
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…
Light-activated self-propelled colloids are synthesized and their active motion is studied using optical microscopy. We propose a versatile route using different photoactive materials, and demonstrate a multiwavelength activation and…
We theoretically study the propagation of light through a cold atomic medium, where the effects of motion, laser intensity, atomic density, and polarization can all modify the properties of the scattered light. We present two different…
Active fluids refer to the fluids that contain self-propelled particles such as bacteria or micro-algae, whose properties differ fundamentally from the passive fluids. Such particles often exhibit an intermittent motion, with high-motility…
Coupling light to ensembles of strongly interacting particles has emerged as a promising route toward achieving few photon nonlinearities. One specific way to implement this kind of nonlinearity is to interface light with highly excited…
Atoms coupled to optical fields confined in one and two spatial dimensions in solid state microstructures can experience very large light shifts if the driving frequencies are close to a resonance of the microstructures and an atomic…
The nature of light-induced structures in attosecond transient absorption spectroscopy of molecular systems is investigated theoretically. It is shown how nuclear dynamics affect these structures. We find that a theoretical three-surface…
Thanks to a constant energy input, active matter can self-assemble into phases with complex architectures and functionalities such as living clusters that dynamically form, reshape and break-up, which are forbidden in equilibrium materials…
Intense light-matter interaction largely relies on the use of high-power light sources, creating fields comparable to, or even stronger than, the field keeping the electrons bound in atoms. Under such conditions, the interaction induces…