Singular-optical insight into nanophysics

Abstract:

New field of modern optics and photonics, namely singular optics, provides exceptional feasibilities both for manipulating micro- and nanoparticles and for using such particles in diagnostics of light flows. The essence of this project is to develop new techniques for these purposes based on the use of unconventional singularities in optical fields such as singularities of spatial correlation functions, phase singularities of spectral components of polychromatic light fields, polarization degree singularities, and singularities of the Poynting vector’s components. The use of singular optical beams with reduced coherence and monochromaticity provides noninvasive tool for manipulating of insignificantly small quantity of matter that is of especial importance for manipulation with biological samples. At the same time, combination of common phase singularities (optical vortices bearing orbital angular momentum) inherent in scalar optical beams and polarization singularities gives rise precise control of moving, rotating, converging and diverging particles. Sphere of applications of the results of this project includes nanooptics, precise chemistry, pharmacology, ecology, biomedical optics.