Superdiffusion in optically controlled active media

    Authors

    K. M. Douglass; S. Sukhov;A. Dogariu

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Nat. Photonics

    Keywords

    BROWNIAN-MOTION; TURBULENCE; PARTICLES; Optics; Physics, Applied

    Abstract

    Active media are complex systems driven by both thermal fluctuations and additional energy sources(1,2) and are encountered in a variety of phenomena including mobile bacteria(3,4), protein diffusion(5) or turbulent flows(6,7). However, studying the non-equilibrium dynamics of active media is often difficult because of their size and complexity(8). Here, we demonstrate that an active medium can be realized and controlled optically through dynamic coupling between multiply scattered light and colloidal particles. As a result of a strong light-matter interaction, the particles undergo diffusion upon a spatiotemporal random potential that leads to an apparent superdiffusion over timescales controlled by, among other things, both the input power and particle size. This model could serve as a convenient tool for exploring the intricacies of non-equilibrium thermodynamics of soft matter while also offering new possibilities for the coherent control of strongly coupled, complex systems(9).

    Journal Title

    Nature Photonics

    Volume

    6

    Issue/Number

    12

    Publication Date

    1-1-2012

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    833

    Last Page

    836

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000311892000012

    ISSN

    1749-4885

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