Orbital rotation of spheroidal Mie particles driven by counter-propagating circularly-polarized beams

Abstract

We theoretically consider orbital rotation of a spheroidal submicron particle in the field of two counter-propagating circularly polarized Gaussian beams. We derived equations connecting the parameters of the circular orbits centered on the beams axis to the optical force and torque. The equations show that, besides orbital rotation, the spheroidal particle simultaneously rotates around its equatorial axis. We found that two distinct dynamic regimes are possible. The orbital motion can be accompanied by a rapid proper rotation with angular velocity an order of magnitude larger than the angular velocity of the orbital rotation. Alternatively, the orbital and proper rotations can be synchronized. The direction of orbital rotation can either coincide with or be opposite to the direction of rotation of the electric vector. The findings are confirmed by direct numerical simulations. The results can be of use in development of nano-scale gyroscopes as well in shape-selective sorting of submicron particles.