Dynamics of polarization-tuned mirror symmetry breaking in a rotationally symmetric system.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38961090.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-49696-x and PMC identifier 11222497.
- 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
Lateral momentum conservation is typically kept in a non-absorptive rotationally symmetric system through mirror symmetry via Noether's theorem when illuminated by a homogeneous light wave. Therefore, it is still very challenging to break the mirror symmetry and generate a lateral optical force (LOF) in the rotationally symmetric system. Here, we report a general dynamic action in the SO(2) rotationally symmetric system, originating from the polarization-tuned mirror symmetry breaking (MSB) of the light scattering. We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally that MSB can be generally applied to the SO(2) rotationally symmetric system and tuned sinusoidally by polarization orientation, leading to a highly tunable and highly efficient LOF (9.22 pN/mW/μm-2) perpendicular to the propagation direction. The proposed MSB mechanism and LOF not only complete the sets of MSB of light-matter interaction and non-conservative force only using a plane wave but also provide extra polarization manipulation freedom.