When Light Cools a Nanoparticle in One Direction

The prestigious scientific journal Optica has published the results of the Levitational Photonics research team at the Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, demonstrating a new way to control the motion of a levitated nanoparticle using light.

The research team developed an experimental system in which the interaction between two directions of a nanoparticle’s motion can be tuned so that energy is transferred predominantly in one direction. Under certain conditions, one direction of motion cools spontaneously while the other heats up—without the need for active feedback cooling.

The results provide new insight into the behaviour of open, so-called non-Hermitian systems and may contribute in the future to the development of more sensitive sensors and new methods for controlling microscopic objects with light.

https://opg.optica.org/optica/fulltext.cfm?uri=optica-13-9-1759