Related papers: Light, Matter, Action: Shining light on active mat…
These lecture notes are designed to provide a brief introduction into the phenomenology of active matter and to present some of the analytical tools used to rationalize the emergent behavior of active systems. Such systems are made of…
Light is one of the most powerful and precise tools allowing us to control, shape and create new phases of matter. In this task, the magnetic component of a light wave has so far played a unique role in defining the wave's helicity, but its…
We introduce a new class of optical micromotors driven by the spin-orbit interaction of light and spin-driven fluid flows leading to simultaneous rotation and revolution of the micromotors. The micromotors are essentially birefringent…
The study of systems with sustained energy uptake and dissipation at the scale of the constituent particles is an area of central interest in nonequilibrium statistical physics. Identifying such systems as a distinct category -- Active…
Angular momentum and torque are important principles for basic and applied physics on any spatial scales, for example, in elementary particles, cold gases, optical tweezers, quantum information technology, metamaterials, gyroscopes or…
The transfer of angular momentum carried by photons into a microobject has been widely exploited to achieve the actuation of the microobject. However, this scheme is fundamentally defective in nonliquid environments as a result of the scale…
In these proceedings we illustrate that light, very weakly interacting particles can arise naturally from physics which is fundamentally connected to very high energy scales. Searching for them therefore may give us interesting new insights…
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…
Intelligent soft matter stands at the intersection of materials science, physics, and cognitive science, promising to change how we design and interact with materials. This transformative field seeks to create materials that possess…
At the most fundamental level, the interaction between light and matter is manifested by the emission and absorption of single photons by single quantum emitters. Controlling light--matter interaction is the basis for diverse applications…
The interaction of light with photosynthetic proteins is an extremely efficient process and has been thoroughly investigated. However, exploring light-matter interactions in hybrid nano-solid-photosynthetic proteins is a relatively new and…
Electromagnetic waves carry energy as well as linear and angular momenta. When a light pulse is reflected from, transmitted through, or absorbed by a material medium, energy and momentum (both linear and angular) are generally exchanged,…
Astronomical and cosmological observations of the past 80 years build solid evidence that atomic matter makes up only a small fraction of the matter in the universe. The dominant fraction does not interact with electromagnetic radiation,…
Activity and autonomous motion are fundamental aspects of many living and engineering systems. Here, the scale of biological agents covers a wide range, from nanomotors, cytoskeleton, and cells, to insects, fish, birds, and people. Inspired…
Control over the amplitude, phase, and spatial distribution of visible-spectrum light underlies many technologies, but commercial solutions remain bulky, require high control power, and are often too slow. Active integrated photonics for…
Light and sound waves have the fascinating property that they can move objects through the transfer of linear or angular momentum. This ability has led to the development of optical and acoustic tweezers, with applications ranging from…
Ultrastrong coupling between light and matter has, in the past decade, transitioned from theoretical idea to experimental reality. It is a new regime of quantum light-matter interaction, going beyond weak and strong coupling to make the…
Brownian motion provides a bedrock for the understanding of soft condensed matter and, therefore, of the physical description of the microscopic biological world. Inspired by this domain, and combining softness with hydrodynamic energy…
Despite numerous achievements and recent progress, nuclear physics is often (wrongly) considered an old field of research nowadays. However, developments in theoretical frameworks and reliable experimental techniques have made the field…
Light-matter interactions are frequently perceived as predominantly influenced by the electric optical field, with the magnetic component of light often overlooked. Nonetheless, the magnetic aspect plays a pivotal role in various optical…