Observing the individual effects of the electric and magnetic fields of light from the transverse spin of single optically trapped birefringent particles
This work discerns, for the first time, the effects of the electric and magnetic fields of light separately, by their work done on single highly birefringent particles that are optically trapped using vector beams of light.
More elaborately, the work describes an elegant scheme to discern the effects of the electric and magnetic fields of light separately, by their work done on single highly birefringent particles that are optically trapped using vector beams of light. Thus, the authors describe a scheme of generating pure transverse spin angular momentum (TSAM) in their system by tightly focusing radially and azimuthally polarized structured beams with no intrinsic angular momentum into a refractive index stratified medium. The TSAM is then transferred to single highly birefringent particles which spin in a direction parallel to the beam propagation direction. Such choice of beams ensures the breakdown of ‘electromagnetic democracy’ in the context of angular momentum in these systems, which helps demonstrate the action of the electric and magnetic fields on matter, separately.
This work is published in Lasers and Photonics Review with an Impact Factor of 11.
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Posted on: December 2nd, 2023