Non-linear bistability in pulsed optical traps

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Vernon, Alex J., Rodríguez-Fortuño, Francisco J., Zayats, Anatoly V.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Vernon, Alex J.
Rodríguez-Fortuño, Francisco J.
Zayats, Anatoly V.
author_facet Vernon, Alex J.
Rodríguez-Fortuño, Francisco J.
Zayats, Anatoly V.
contents Optical trapping, also known as optical tweezing or optical levitation, is a technique that uses highly focused laser beams to manipulate micro- and nanoscopic particles. In optical traps driven by high-energy pulses, material non-linearity can result in unusual opto-mechanical effects, such as displaced equilibrium points. However, existing theoretical models of non-linear optical force on small particles consider smooth material dependence on the incident field strength alone, and not the feedback between the particle permittivity and internal field strength, which is, in turn, a function of the permittivity. The hysteresis effects of optical bistability in pulsed optical traps therefore elude existing optical force models. Here, we investigate a bistable optical trap, set up by counter-propagating ultrashort pulses, in which the optical force exerted on a particle depends not only on the field at the particle's current location, but on the particle's historic trajectory in the trap. The developed formalism will be important for designing optical traps and nanoparticle manipulation in pulsed field for various applications, including potentially time crystal demonstrations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_00896
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Non-linear bistability in pulsed optical traps
Vernon, Alex J.
Rodríguez-Fortuño, Francisco J.
Zayats, Anatoly V.
Optics
Optical trapping, also known as optical tweezing or optical levitation, is a technique that uses highly focused laser beams to manipulate micro- and nanoscopic particles. In optical traps driven by high-energy pulses, material non-linearity can result in unusual opto-mechanical effects, such as displaced equilibrium points. However, existing theoretical models of non-linear optical force on small particles consider smooth material dependence on the incident field strength alone, and not the feedback between the particle permittivity and internal field strength, which is, in turn, a function of the permittivity. The hysteresis effects of optical bistability in pulsed optical traps therefore elude existing optical force models. Here, we investigate a bistable optical trap, set up by counter-propagating ultrashort pulses, in which the optical force exerted on a particle depends not only on the field at the particle's current location, but on the particle's historic trajectory in the trap. The developed formalism will be important for designing optical traps and nanoparticle manipulation in pulsed field for various applications, including potentially time crystal demonstrations.
title Non-linear bistability in pulsed optical traps
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.00896