Related papers: Pulling and lifting macroscopic objects by light
Optical forces - studied since the earliest days of laser physics - continue to reveal rich dynamics and enable powerful tools for manipulation of objects on micro- and nanoscales, and even individual atoms. Lateral optical forces, which…
Precise manipulation of small objects using light holds transformative potential across diverse fields. While research in optical trapping and manipulation predominantly relies on the attraction of solid matter to light intensity maxima,…
Blackbody radiation around hot objects induces ac Stark shifts of the energy levels of nearby atoms and molecules. These shifts are roughly proportional to the fourth power of the temperature and induce a force decaying with the third power…
It has been a great challenge to achieve the direct light manipulation of matter on a bulk scale. In this work, the direct light propulsion of matter was observed on a macroscopic scale for the first time using a bulk graphene based…
Micron-sized objects confined in thin liquid films interact through forces mediated by the deformed liquid-air interface. This capillary interactions provide a powerful driving mechanism for the self-assembly of ordered structures such as…
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…
Rotation in micro/nanoscale provides extensive applications in mechanical actuation$^{1, 2}$, cargo delivery$^{3, 4}$, and biomolecule manipulation$^{5, 6}$. Light can be used to induce a mechanical rotation remotely, instantly and…
We propose a novel way to trap and manipulate nano-objects above a dielectric substrate using an apertureless near-field probe. A combination of evanescent illumination and light scattering at the probe apex is used to shape the optical…
In this work a method for generating a long-range optical pulling force is presented which is realized by utilizing a vortex beam and a device designed based on transformation optics through conformal mapping. The device works by…
Scaling down miniature rotorcraft and flapping-wing flyers to sub-centimeter dimensions is challenging due to complex electronics requirements, manufacturing limitations, and the increase in viscous damping at low Reynolds numbers.…
The quintessential hallmark distinguishing metasurfaces from traditional optical components is the engineering of subwavelength meta-atoms to manipulate light at will. Enabling this freedom, in a reverse manner, to control objects…
It was recently shown theoretically that it is possible to pull a spherical dielectric body towards the source of a laser beam [Nature Photonics {\bf 5}, 531 (2011)], a result with immediate consequences to optical manipulation of small…
Optomechanics, the study of the mechanical interaction of light with matter, has proven to be a fruitful area of research that has yielded many notable achievements, including the direct detection of gravitational waves in kilometer-scale…
Usually a light beam pushes a particle when the photons act upon it. This is due to that the electric-dipole particle in the paraxial beam is considered. We investigate the scattering forces in non-paraxial gradientless beams and find that…
Levitated optomechanics, a rapidly expanding field that employs light to monitor and manipulate the mechanical motion of levitated objects, is increasingly relevant across physics, engineering, and other fields. This technique, which…
Optical vortex beams carry orbital angular momentum and thus exert torque on illuminated objects. A dielectric microtool - a microbarbell - is used in a two-laser optical tweezers to measure the torque of a focused optical vortex. The tool…
Optomechanics is concerned with the use of light to control mechanical objects. As a field, it has been hugely successful in the production of precise and novel sensors, the development of low-dissipation nanomechanical devices, and the…
Depletion forces exerted by self-propelled particles on circular and elliptical passive objects are studied using numerical simulations. We show that a bath of active particles can induce repulsive and attractive forces which are sensitive…
Multilayer microparticles with a liquid core and a polycomposite light-absorbing shell (microcapsules) are important components of modern bio- and medical technologies. Opening of the microcapsule shell and payload release can be realized…
The controllable positioning of a vacuum-levitated object near a material surface is of importance for studying short-range forces, such as Casimir forces, interfacial friction forces, or gravity in yet unexplored parameter regimes. Here we…