Optical centrifuge for nanoparticles

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Xiong, Peiyao, Ho, Kit Ka Kelvin, Gosling, J. M. H., Rademacher, M., Barker, P. F.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Xiong, Peiyao
Ho, Kit Ka Kelvin
Gosling, J. M. H.
Rademacher, M.
Barker, P. F.
author_facet Xiong, Peiyao
Ho, Kit Ka Kelvin
Gosling, J. M. H.
Rademacher, M.
Barker, P. F.
contents We study the creation of an optical centrifuge for the controlled rotation of levitated nanorotors within an optical tweezer. The optical centrifuge is created by rapidly rotating the linear polarization of the tightly focused optical field used to form an optical trap. We show that nanorotors, formed by anisotropic nanoparticles levitated within the trap, can be accelerated to well-defined rotational rates in excess of 100 MHz over durations of hundreds of microseconds. The initial conditions required for stable acceleration, based on optical trap properties and the anisotropic susceptibility of the nanorotor are established, and confirmed by numerical simulations. We also present initial experiments that have developed tools for the rapid angular acceleration of the polarization vector of the linearly polarized beam that is required to create the centrifuge. We show that over the acceleration durations in the 100 $\upmu$s range, high rotational speeds could be achieved in modest vacuum.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_16134
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Optical centrifuge for nanoparticles
Xiong, Peiyao
Ho, Kit Ka Kelvin
Gosling, J. M. H.
Rademacher, M.
Barker, P. F.
Optics
Quantum Physics
We study the creation of an optical centrifuge for the controlled rotation of levitated nanorotors within an optical tweezer. The optical centrifuge is created by rapidly rotating the linear polarization of the tightly focused optical field used to form an optical trap. We show that nanorotors, formed by anisotropic nanoparticles levitated within the trap, can be accelerated to well-defined rotational rates in excess of 100 MHz over durations of hundreds of microseconds. The initial conditions required for stable acceleration, based on optical trap properties and the anisotropic susceptibility of the nanorotor are established, and confirmed by numerical simulations. We also present initial experiments that have developed tools for the rapid angular acceleration of the polarization vector of the linearly polarized beam that is required to create the centrifuge. We show that over the acceleration durations in the 100 $\upmu$s range, high rotational speeds could be achieved in modest vacuum.
title Optical centrifuge for nanoparticles
topic Optics
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.16134