Optical tweezers in a dusty universe

Abstract

Optical tweezers are powerful tools based on focused laser beams. They are able to trap, manipulate and investigate a wide range of microscopic and nanoscopic particles in different media, such as liquids, air, and vacuum. Key applications of this contactless technique have been developed in many fields. Despite this progress, optical trapping applications to planetary exploration is still to be developed. Here we describe how optical tweezers can be used to trap and characterize extraterrestrial particulate matter. In particular, we exploit light scattering theory in the T-matrix formalism to calculate radiation pressure and optical trapping properties of a variety of complex particles of astrophysical interest. Our results open perspectives in the investigation of extraterrestrial particles on our planet, in controlled laboratory experiments, aiming for space tweezers applications: optical tweezers used to trap and characterize dust particles in space or on planetary bodies surface.

18 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Part of EPJ plus Focus Point Issues on "Light Pressure across All Scales"

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Cited by in corpus (3)

• Faster calculations of optical trapping using neural networks trained by T-matrix data: an application to micro and nanoplastics
• Investigation of dust grains by optical tweezers for space applications
• Interstellar dust as a dynamic environment