Related papers: Active aerosols
We report phase separation and liquid-crystal ordering induced by scalar activity in a system of Soft Repulsive Spherocylinders (SRS) of aspect ratio $L/D = 5 $. Activity was introduced by increasing the temperature of half of the SRS…
Self-propelling active matter relies on the conversion of energy from the undirected, nanoscopic scale to directed, macroscopic motion. One of the challenges in the design of synthetic active matter lies in the control of dynamic states, or…
We present experimental techniques and results related to the optimization and characterization of our nanofiber-based atom trap [Vetsch et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 203603 (2010)]. The atoms are confined in an optical lattice which is…
A new type of metal-dielectric composites has been proposed that is characterised by a resonance-like behaviour of the effective permeability in the infrared and visible spectral ranges. This material can be referred to as optomagnetic…
We report optical trapping and transport of nanoparticles in a moving interference pattern in hollow-core photonic crystal fiber at atmospheric pressure, when competition between trapping and drag forces causes the particle velocity to…
Efficient mixing and pumping of liquids at the microscale is a technology that is still to be optimized. The combination of an AC electric field with a small temperature gradient leads to a strong electro-thermal flow that can be used for…
We introduce optically tunable surfaces based upon metallic gold nanoparticles trapped in open, water-filled gold cavities. The optical properties of the surfaces change dramatically with the presence and location of the particles inside…
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…
We introduce electrically-poled small molecule assemblies that can serve as the active electro-optic material in nano-scale guided-wave circuits such as those of the silicon photonics platform. These monolithic organic materials can be…
It has recently been shown that holographically nanostructured surfaces can be employed to control the wavefront of (predominantly plasmonic) optical-frequency light emission generated by the injection of medium-energy electrons into a gold…
Achieving controlled and directed motion of artificial nanoscale systems in three-dimensional fluid environments remains a key-challenge in active matter, primarily due to the prevailing thermal fluctuations that rapidly randomize the…
Active matter comprises self-driven units, such as bacteria and synthetic microswimmers, that can spontaneously form complex patterns and assemble into functional microdevices. These processes are possible thanks to the out-of-equilibrium…
We show theoretically that an imposed uniaxial anisotropy leads to new universality classes for the dynamics of active particles suspended in a viscous fluid. In the homogeneous state, their concentration relaxes superdiffusively, stirred…
A new experimental technique for creating and imaging collisions of micron-sized droplets settling under gravity is presented. A pair of glycerol droplets is suspended in air by means of two optical traps. The droplet relative velocities…
To explore possibilities for X-ray flux monitoring on optical elements electrical responses of silicon and diamond single crystals and that of an X-ray mirror were studied under exposure to hard X-rays in a single electrode configuration in…
The plasmon resonance of metal nanoparticles can enhance and direct light from optical emitters in much the same way that radio frequency (RF) antennas enhance and direct the emission from electrical circuits. In the RF regime, a typical…
The use of tapered optical fibers, i.e., optical nanofibers, for spectroscopy and the detection of small numbers of particles, such as neutral atoms or molecules, has been gaining ground in recent years. In this review, we briefly introduce…
The optical activity of oriented molecular systems is investigated using bianisotropic material constitutives for Maxwell's equations. It is shown that the circular birefringence and circular dichroism in a given direction can be…
We report on the determination of the dynamical polarizability of ultracold erbium atoms in the ground and in one excited state at three different wavelengths, which are particularly relevant for optical trapping. Our study combines…
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,…