Symmetry and the generation and measurement of optical torque
arXiv:0812.2039
Abstract
A key element in the generation of optical torque in optical traps, which occurs when electromagnetic angular momentum is transferred from the trapping beam to the trapped particle by scattering, is the symmetries of the scattering particle and the trapping beam. We discuss the effect of such symmetries on the generation and measurement of optical torque in optical tweezers, and some consequent general principles for the design of optically-driven micromachines.
28 pages
References in corpus (6)
- Optical microrheology using rotating laser-trapped particles
- Optical application and measurement of torque on microparticles of isotropic nonabsorbing material
- Multipole expansion of strongly focussed laser beams
- Picolitre viscometry using optically rotated particles
- Measurement of the total optical angular momentum transfer in optical tweezers
- Optical measurement of torque exerted on an elongated object by a non-circular laser beam