Related papers: Towards efficient modelling of optical micromanipu…
Light forces induced by scattering and absorption in elastic dielectrics lead to local density modulations and deformations. These perturbations in turn modify light propagation in the medium and generate an intricate nonlinear response. We…
Appropriate combinations of laser beams can be used to trap and manipulate small particles with "optical tweezers" as well as to induce significant "optical binding" forces between particles. These interaction forces are usually strongly…
A scheme for fast, compact, and controllable acceleration of heavy particles in vacuum is proposed, in which two counterpropagating lasers with variable frequencies drive a beat-wave structure with variable phase velocity, thus allowing for…
The precise tracking of micron sized colloidal particles - held in the vicinity of each other using optical tweezers - is an elegant way to gain information about the particle-particle pair interaction potential. The accuracy of the method,…
We develop a computational framework for identifying bounds to light-matter interactions, originating from polarization-current-based formulations of local conservation laws embedded in Maxwell's equations. We propose an iterative method…
Optical binding interactions between laser-trapped spherical microparticles are familiar in a wide range of trapping configurations. Recently it has been demonstrated that these experiments can be accurately modeled using Mie scattering or…
Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly evolved into a critical technology; however, electrical hardware struggles to keep pace with the exponential growth of AI models. Free space optical hardware provides alternative approaches for…
In the field of microdroplet manipulation, optical tweezers have been used to form and grow droplets, to transport them, or to measure forces between droplet pairs. However, the exploration of out-of-equilibrium phenomena in optically…
Trapping and manipulation of particles using laser beams has become an important tool in diverse fields of research. In recent years, particular interest is given to the problem of conveying optically trapped particles over extended…
Holographic optical tweezers can be applied to manipulate microscopic particles in arbitrary optical patterns, which classical optical tweezers cannot do. This ability relies on accurate computer-generated holography (CGH), yet most CGH…
We propose a rigorous theory for the optical trapping by optical vortices, which is emerging as an important tool to trap mesoscopic particles. The common perception is that the trapping is solely due to the gradient force, and may be…
Optical tweezers have become essential tools to manipulate atoms or molecules at a single particle level. However, using standard diffracted-limited optical systems, the transverse size of the trap is lower bounded by the optical…
We present recent developments on numerical algorithms for computing photon and particle trajectories in the surrounding of compact objects. Strong gravity around neutron stars or black holes causes relativistic effects on the motion of…
Most previous theoretical studies on the optical torque exerted by light on dipolar particles are incomplete. Here we establish the equations for the time-averaged optical torque on dipolar bi-isotropic particles. Due to the interference of…
Critical Casimir forces emerge between objects, such as colloidal particles, whenever their surfaces spatially confine the fluctuations of the order parameter of a critical liquid used as a solvent. These forces act at short but…
Advances in optical trapping design principles have led to tremendous progress in manipulating nanoparticles (NPs) with diverse functionalities in different environments using bulky systems. However, efficient control and manipulation of…
Computational fluid dynamics and aerodynamics, which complement more expensive empirical approaches, are critical for developing aerospace vehicles. During the past three decades, computational aerodynamics capability has improved…
Optical focusing through/inside scattering media, like multimode fiber and biological tissues, has significant impact in biomedicine yet considered challenging due to strong scattering nature of light. Previously, promising progress has…
The mechanical action of various kinds of waves has been recognized for several centuries. The first tide of scientific interest in wave-induced forces and torques emerged at the turn of the 20th century, with the development of wave…
We present a practical roadmap to achieve optical cycling and laser cooling of asymmetric top molecules (ATMs). Our theoretical analysis describes how reduced molecular symmetry, as compared to diatomic and symmetric non-linear molecules,…