Hydrodynamic spin-orbit coupling in asynchronous optically driven micro-rotors.

ABSTRACT: Vortical flows of rotating particles describe interactions ranging from molecular machines to atmospheric dynamics. Yet to date, direct observation of the hydrodynamic coupling between artificial micro-rotors has been restricted by the details of the chosen drive, either through synchronization (using external magnetic fields) or confinement (using optical tweezers). Here we present a new active system that illuminates the interplay of rotation and translation in free rotors. We develop a non-tweezing circularly polarized beam that simultaneously rotates hundreds of silica-coated birefringent colloids. The particles rotate asynchronously in the optical torque field while freely diffusing in the plane. We observe that neighboring particles orbit each other with an angular velocity that depe

SUBMITTER: Modin A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10336088 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature