Number of the records: 1  

Transverse spin forces and non-equilibrium particle dynamics in a circularly polarized vacuum optical trap

  1. 1.
    0498705 - ÚPT 2019 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
    Svak, Vojtěch - Brzobohatý, Oto - Šiler, Martin - Jákl, Petr - Kaňka, Jan - Zemánek, Pavel - Simpson, Stephen Hugh
    Transverse spin forces and non-equilibrium particle dynamics in a circularly polarized vacuum optical trap.
    Nature Communications. Roč. 9, č. 1 (2018), č. článku 5453. E-ISSN 2041-1723
    R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36681G; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1212
    Institutional support: RVO:68081731
    Keywords : optical trapping * optical levitation * counter-propagating beams * optical spin force * non-conservative force * non-equilibrium dynamics
    OECD category: Optics (including laser optics and quantum optics)
    Impact factor: 11.878, year: 2018

    We provide a vivid demonstration of the mechanical effect of transverse spin momentum in an optical beam in free space. This component of the Poynting momentum was previously thought to be virtual, and unmeasurable. Here, its effect is revealed in the inertial motion of a probe particle in a circularly polarized Gaussian trap, in vacuum. Transverse spin forces combine with thermal fluctuations to induce a striking range of non-equilibrium phenomena. With increasing beam power we observe (i) growing departures from energy equipartition, (ii) the formation of coherent, thermally excited orbits and, ultimately, (iii) the ejection of the particle from the trap. As well as corroborating existing measurements of spin momentum, our results reveal its dynamic effect. We show how the under-damped motion of probe particles in structured light fields can expose the nature and morphology of optical momentum flows, and provide a testbed for elementary non-equilibrium statistical mechanics.
    Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0290987

     
     
Number of the records: 1  

  This site uses cookies to make them easier to browse. Learn more about how we use cookies.