Structured transverse orbital angular momentum probed by a levitated optomechanical sensor.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37149678.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-38261-7 and PMC identifier 10164142.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The momentum carried by structured light fields exhibits a rich array of surprising features. In this work, we generate transverse orbital angular momentum (TOAM) in the interference field of two parallel and counter-propagating linearly-polarised focused beams, synthesising an array of identical handedness vortices carrying intrinsic TOAM. We explore this structured light field using an optomechanical sensor, consisting of an optically levitated silicon nanorod, whose rotation is a probe of the optical angular momentum, which generates an exceptionally large torque. This simple creation and direct observation of TOAM will have applications in studies of fundamental physics, the optical manipulation of matter and quantum optomechanics.