Related papers: Algal Optics
The observation of neuron-like behaviour in bacteria, such as the occurrence of electric spiking and extended bioelectric signalling, points to the role of membrane dynamics in prokaryotes. Electrophysiology of bacteria, however, has been…
We consider the geometrical optics for refraction of a distant radio source by an interstellar plasma lens, with application to a lens with a Gaussian electron column density profile. The refractive properties of the lens are specified…
Thermal light sources can produce photons with strong spatial correlations. We study the role that these correlations might potentially play in bacterial photosynthesis. Our findings show a relationship between the transversal distance…
The primary objective of this article is to explore how rotation influences the initiation of phototactic bioconvection. This investigation is conducted through the application of linear stability theory to a suspension composed of…
Electrodynamic interactions between biomolecules are of potential biological interest for signaling warranting investigation of their activation through various mechanisms in living systems. Here, using as model system a light harvesting…
The measurement of a quantitative and macroscopic parameter to estimate the global motility of a large population of swimming biological cells is a challenge Experiments on the rheology of active suspensions have been performed. Effective…
Living creatures exhibit a remarkable diversity of locomotion mechanisms, evolving structures specialised for interacting with their environment. In the vast majority of cases, locomotor behaviours such as flying, crawling, and running, are…
We construct a semiclassical theory for propagation of an optical wavepacket in non-conducting media with periodic structures of dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability, i.e., non-conducting photonic crystals. We employ a…
The effect of the rigid top surface on the onset of phototactic bioconvection is investigated using linear stability theory for a suspension of forward-scattering phototactic algae in this article. The suspension is uniformly illuminated by…
Chirality is at the origin of life and is ubiquitous in nature. An object is deemed chiral if it is non-superimposable with its own mirror image. This relates to how circularly polarized light interacts with such object, a circular…
Wavefront shaping has revolutionized the concepts of optical imaging and focusing. Contrary to what was believed, strong scattering in the optical paths can be exploited in favor of light focusing through turbid media and ultimately improve…
We investigate potential $\gamma-\gamma$ absorption of gamma-ray emission from blazars arising from inhomogeneities along the line of sight, beyond the diffuse Extragalactic Background Light (EBL). As plausible sources of excess…
A cornerstone equation of optics, Snell's law, relates the angles of incidence and refraction for light passing through an interface between two media. It is built on two fundamental constrains: the conservation of tangential momentum and…
Many microorganisms, with phytoplankton and zooplankton as prominent examples, display phototactic behaviour, that is, the ability to perform directed motion within a light gradient. Here we experimentally demonstrate that sensing of light…
ALMA provides the necessary spatial, temporal and spectral resolution to explore central questions in contemporary solar physics with potentially far-reaching implications for stellar atmospheres and plasma physics. It can uniquely…
Plasma lensing is the refraction of low-frequency electromagnetic rays due to free electrons in the interstellar medium. Although the phenomenon has a distinct similarity to gravitational lensing, particularly in its mathematical…
One of the characteristic features of many marine dinoflagellates is their bioluminescence, which lights up nighttime breaking waves or seawater sliced by a ship's prow. While the internal biochemistry of light production by these…
We study the wave optics features of gravitational microlensing by a binary lens composed of a planet and a parent star. In this system, the source star near the caustic line produces a pair of images in which they can play the role of…
New materials aim at exploiting the great control of living organisms over molecular architectures and minerals. Optical biomimetics has been widely developed by microengineering, leading to photonic components with order resembling those…
The burgeoning field of astrophotonics explores the interface between astronomy and photonics. Important applications include photonic OH suppression at near-infrared wavelengths, and integrated photonic spectroscopy. These new photonic…