Transfer of orbital angular momentum from asymmetric Laguerre-Gaussian beams to dielectric microparticles

Abstract

Transfer of the orbital angular momentum to dielectric microparticles optically trapped using recently discovered asymmetric Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) laser beams is demonstrated. We experimentally show that at a fixed topological charge, increasing beam asymmetry parameter leads to increasing velocity of the polystyrene beads moving along a crescent-shaped path.