While most applications and fundamental studies of optical trapping
have focused on optical forces resulting from intensity gradients,
here we explore the role of radiation pressure directed by phase
gradients in beams of light. Radiation pressure turns out to be a
non-conservative force and drives trapped objects out of detailed
balance. Rather than undergoing equilibrium thermal fluctuations,
as has been assumed for decades, a microsphere in an optical
tweezer enters into a stochastic steady-state characterized by
closed loops in its probability current. This surprising effect is
a particular manifestation of a more general class of noise-driven
machines that we call Brownian vortexes. This previously
unrecognized class of stochastic heat engines operates on
qualitatively different principles from such extensively studied
nonequilibrium systems as thermal ratchets and Brownian motors.
Among its interesting properties, a Brownian vortex can reverse its
direction with changes in temperature or equivalent control
parameters.
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