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Optical manipulation

Momentum exchange effect

Nature Photonics volume 7, pages 765–766 (2013)Cite this article

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A pulling force can be generated via amplification of the photon linear momentum when a fairly uniform light field passes from one dielectric to another with a higher refractive index. This force can drag small objects over macroscopic distances along dielectric interfaces.

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Figure 1: In a single-beam optical trap, a high-numerical-aperture lens is used to focus a laser beam onto a small dielectric object whose refractive index n is greater than that of the surrounding environment.
Figure 2: A p-polarized light pulse of energy ɛ and linear momentum p = ɛ/c passes through a glass prism of refractive index n.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Masud Mansuripur is at the University of Arizona's College of Optical Sciences in Tucson, USA,

    Masud Mansuripur

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  1. Masud Mansuripur
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Correspondence to Masud Mansuripur.

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Mansuripur, M. Momentum exchange effect. Nature Photon 7, 765–766 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2013.249

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