Rotation of two trapped microparticles in vacuum : observation of optically mediated parametric resonances

We demonstrate trapping and rotation of two mesoscopic particles in vacuum using a spatial-light-modulator-based approach to trap more than one particle, induce controlled rotation of individual particles, and mediate interparticle separation. By trapping and rotating two vaterite particles, we observe intensity modulation of the scattered light at the sum and difference frequencies with respect to the individual rotation rates. This first demonstration of optical interference between two microparticles in vacuum leads to a platform to potentially explore optical binding and quantum friction effects.

Citation

Arita , Y , Mazilu , M , Vettenburg , T , Wright , E & Dholakia , K 2015 , ' Rotation of two trapped microparticles in vacuum : observation of optically mediated parametric resonances ' , Optics Letters , vol. 40 , no. 20 , pp. 4751-4754 . https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.40.004751

Publication

Optics Letters

Status

Peer reviewed

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.40.004751

ISSN

0146-9592

Type

Journal article

Rights

© 2015 Optical Society of America. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modifications of the content of this paper are prohibited. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OL.40.004751

Description

Funding: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) (EP/J01771X/1).

Collections

University of St Andrews Research

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10023/9667