Related papers: Capped colloids as light-mills in optical traps
We demonstrate that trapping of dispersive waves between two optical solitons takes place when resonant scattering of the waves on the solitons leads to nearly perfect reflections. The momentum transfer from the radiation to solitons…
Electronic excitations in metallic nanoparticles in the optical regime that have been of great importance in surface enhanced spectroscopy and emerging applications of molecular plasmonics, due to control and confinement of electromagnetic…
Thin Cr films 28-nm thick deposited on glass substrates were processed by scanning low-intensity femtosecond laser pulses with energy well below single-pulse damage threshold. Two types of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS)…
We experimentally studied the Faraday rotation of resonant light in an optically-thick cloud of laser-cooled rubidium atoms. Measurements yield a large Verdet constant in the range of 200 000 degrees/T/mm and a maximal polarization rotation…
Optical dipole traps and fractional Talbot optical lattices based on the interference between multiple co-propagating laser beams are proposed. The variation of relative amplitudes and phases of the interfering light beams of these traps…
We demonstrate facile optical manipulation of shape of birefringent colloidal microparticles made from liquid crystal elastomers. Using soft lithography and polymerization, we fabricate elastomeric microcylinders with weakly undulating…
A discrete analogue of the dynamical (Kapitza) trapping effect, known for classical and quantum particles in rapidly oscillating potentials, is proposed for light waves in modulated graded-index waveguide lattices. As in the non-modulated…
Abundant in nature, colloids also find increasingly important applications in science and technology, ranging from direct probing of kinetics in crystals and glasses to fabrication of third-generation quantum-dot solar cells. Because…
When a single two-level atom interacts with a pair of Laguerre-Gaussian beams with opposite helicity, this leads to an efficient exchange of angular momentum between the light field and the atom. When the radial motion is trapped by an…
Suspensions of micro and nano particles made of Polystyrene, Poly(methyl methacrylate), Silicon dioxide etc. have been a standard model system to understand colloidal physics. . These systems have proved useful insights into phenomena such…
Optical tweezers which utilize structured light fields enable the rotation of trapped nanoparticles through the transfer of orbital angular momentum (OAM) from holographically generated Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) modes. In this research we use…
Particle shape and medium chirality are two key features recently used to control anisotropic colloidal self-assembly and dynamics in liquid crystals. Here, we study magnetically responsive gourd-shaped colloidal particles dispersed in…
The recoil optical force that acts on emitters near a surface or waveguide relies on near-field directionality and conservation of momentum. It features desirable properties uncommon in optical forces, such as the ability to produce it via…
We present a method to measure the optical torque applied to particles of arbitrary shape held in an optical trap, inferred from the change of angular momentum of light induced by the particle. All torque components can be determined from a…
Formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS or ripples) was studied on a metallic surface of polished copper by using irradiation with multiple femtosecond laser pulses in different environmental conditions (air, water,…
We study aging in a colloidal suspension consisting of micron-sized particles in a liquid. This system is made glassy by increasing the particle concentration. We observe samples composed of particles of two sizes, with a size ratio of…
Trapping of single ultracold atoms is an important tool for applications ranging from quantum computation and communication to sensing. However, most experimental setups, while very precise and versatile, can only be operated in specialized…
A circularly polarized laser beam is used to levitate and control the rotation of microspheres in high vacuum. At low pressure, rotation frequencies as high as 6 MHz are observed for birefringent vaterite spheres, limited by centrifugal…
In the last years, it was demonstrated that neutral molecules can be loaded on a microchip directly from a supersonic beam. The molecules are confined in microscopic traps that can be moved smoothly over the surface of the chip. Once the…
Following a recent demonstration of stable trapping of floating particles by stationary (monochromatic) structured water waves [Nature 638, 394 (2025)], we report dynamic water-wave tweezers that enable controllable transport of trapped…