934 research outputs found
Coupled Dipole Method Determination of the Electromagnetic Force on a Particle over a Flat Dielectric Substrate
We present a theory to compute the force due to light upon a particle on a
dielectric plane by the Coupled Dipole Method (CDM). We show that, with this
procedure, two equivalent ways of analysis are possible, both based on
Maxwell's stress tensor. The interest in using this method is that the nature
and size or shape of the object, can be arbitrary. Even more, the presence of a
substrate can be incorporated. To validate our theory, we present an analytical
expression of the force due to the light acting on a particle either in
presence, or not, of a surface. The plane wave illuminating the sphere can be
either propagating or evanescent. Both two and three dimensional calculations
are studied.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures and 3 table
On optical forces in spherical whispering gallery mode resonators
In this paper we discuss the force exerted by the field of an optical cavity
on a polarizable dipole. We show that the modification of the cavity modes due
to interaction with the dipole significantly alters the properties of the
force. In particular, all components of the force are found to be
non-conservative, and cannot, therefore, be derived from a potential energy. We
also suggest a simple generalization of the standard formulas for the optical
force on the dipole, which reproduces the results of calculations based on the
Maxwell stress tensor.Comment: To pe published in Optics Express Focus Issue: "Collective phenomena
in photonic, plasmonic and hybrid structures
Resonant radiation pressure on neutral particles in a waveguide
A theoretical analysis of electromagnetic forces on neutral particles in an
hollow waveguide is presented. We show that the effective scattering cross
section of a very small (Rayleigh) particle can be strongly modified inside a
waveguide. The coupling of the scattered dipolar field with the waveguide modes
induce a resonant enhanced backscattering state of the scatterer-guide system
close to the onset of new modes. The particle effective cross section can then
be as large as the wavelength even far from any transition resonance. As we
will show, a small particle can be strongly accelerated along the guide axis
while being highly confined in a narrow zone of the cross section of the guide.Comment: RevTeX,4 pages,3 PS figure
Optical binding of particles with or without the presence of a flat dielectric surface
Optical fields can induce forces between microscopic objects, thus giving
rise to new structures of matter. We study theoretically these optical forces
between two spheres, either isolated in water, or in presence of a flat
dielectric surface. We observe different behavior in the binding force between
particles at large and at small distances (in comparison with the wavelength)
from each other. This is due to the great contribution of evanescent waves at
short distances. We analyze how the optical binding depends of the size of the
particles, the material composing them, the wavelength and, above all, on the
polarization of the incident beam. We also show that depending on the
polarization, the force between small particles at small distances changes its
sign. Finally, the presence of a substrate surface is analyzed showing that it
only slightly changes the magnitudes of the forces, but not their qualitative
nature, except when one employs total internal reflection, case in which the
particles are induced to move together along the surface.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, and 1 tabl
Can a charged ring levitate a neutral, polarizable object? Can Earnshaw's Theorem be extended to such objects?
Stable electrostatic levitation and trapping of a neutral, polarizable object
by a charged ring is shown to be theoretically impossible. Earnshaw's Theorem
precludes the existence of such a stable, neutral particle trap.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur
The Off-Shell Nucleon-Nucleon Amplitude: Why it is Unmeasurable in Nucleon-Nucleon Bremsstrahlung
Nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung has long been considered a way of getting
information about the off-shell nucleon-nucleon amplitude which would allow one
to distinguish among nucleon-nucleon potentials based on their off-shell
properties. There have been many calculations and many experiments devoted to
this aim. We show here, in contrast to this standard view, that such off-shell
amplitudes are not measurable as a matter of principle. This follows formally
from the invariance of the S-matrix under transformations of the fields. This
result is discussed here and illustrated via two simple models, one applying to
spin zero, and one to spin one half, processes. The latter model is very
closely related to phenomenological models which have been used to study
off-shell effects at electromagnetic vertices.Comment: 6 pages, Latex, uses FBSsuppl.cls - Invited plenary talk at the Asia
Pacific Conference on Few Body Problems in Physics, Noda/Kashiwa, Japan,
August, 1999 - To be published in Few Body Systems Supp
Investigation of superconducting interactions and amorphous semiconductors
Research papers on superconducting interactions and properties and on amorphous materials are presented. The search for new superconductors with improved properties was largely concentrated on the study of properties of thin films. An experimental investigation of interaction mechanisms revealed no new superconductivity mechanism. The properties of high transition temperature, type 2 materials prepared in thin film form were studied. A pulsed field solenoid capable of providing fields in excess of 300 k0e was developed. Preliminary X-ray measurements were made of V3Si to determine the behavior of cell constant deformation versus pressure up to 98 kilobars. The electrical properties of amorphous semiconducting materials and bulk and thin film devices, and of amorphous magnetic materials were investigated for developing radiation hard, inexpensive switches and memory elements
Proliferation of anomalous symmetries in colloidal monolayers subjected to quasiperiodic light fields
Quasicrystals provide a fascinating class of materials with intriguing
properties. Despite a strong potential for numerous technical applications, the
conditions under which quasicrystals form are still poorly understood.
Currently, it is not clear why most quasicrystals hold 5- or 10-fold symmetry
but no single example with 7 or 9-fold symmetry has ever been observed. Here we
report on geometrical constraints which impede the formation of quasicrystals
with certain symmetries in a colloidal model system. Experimentally, colloidal
quasicrystals are created by subjecting micron-sized particles to
two-dimensional quasiperiodic potential landscapes created by n=5 or seven
laser beams. Our results clearly demonstrate that quasicrystalline order is
much easier established for n = 5 compared to n = 7. With increasing laser
intensity we observe that the colloids first adopt quasiperiodic order at local
areas which then laterally grow until an extended quasicrystalline layer forms.
As nucleation sites where quasiperiodicity originates, we identify highly
symmetric motifs in the laser pattern. We find that their density strongly
varies with n and surprisingly is smallest exactly for those quasicrystalline
symmetries which have never been observed in atomic systems. Since such high
symmetry motifs also exist in atomic quasicrystals where they act as
preferential adsorption sites, this suggests that it is indeed the deficiency
of such motifs which accounts for the absence of materials with e.g. 7-fold
symmetry
Point force manipulation and activated dynamics of polymers adsorbed on structured substrates
We study the activated motion of adsorbed polymers which are driven over a
structured substrate by a localized point force.Our theory applies to
experiments with single polymers using, for example, tips of scanning force
microscopes to drag the polymer.We consider both flexible and semiflexible
polymers,and the lateral surface structure is represented by double-well or
periodic potentials. The dynamics is governed by kink-like excitations for
which we calculate shapes, energies, and critical point forces. Thermally
activated motion proceeds by the nucleation of a kink-antikink pair at the
point where the force is applied and subsequent diffusive separation of kink
and antikink. In the stationary state of the driven polymer, the collective
kink dynamics can be described by an one-dimensional symmetric simple exclusion
process.Comment: 7 pages, 2 Figure
Optical alignment and spinning of laser-trapped microscopic particles
Light-induced rotation of absorbing microscopic particles by transfer of
angular momentum from light to the material raises the possibility of optically
driven micromachines. The phenomenon has been observed using elliptically
polarized laser beams or beams with helical phase structure. But it is
difficult to develop high power in such experiments because of overheating and
unwanted axial forces, limiting the achievable rotation rates to a few hertz.
This problem can in principle be overcome by using transparent particles,
transferring angular momentum by a mechanism first observed by Beth in 1936,
when he reported a tiny torque developed in a quartz waveplate due to the
change in polarization of transmitted light. Here we show that an optical
torque can be induced on microscopic birefringent particles of calcite held by
optical tweezers. Depending on the polarization of the incident beam, the
particles either become aligned with the plane of polarization (and thus can be
rotated through specified angles) or spin with constant rotation frequency.
Because these microscopic particles are transparent, they can be held in
three-dimensional optical traps at very high power without heating. We have
observed rotation rates in excess of 350 Hz.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
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