Optical spin torque induced by vector Bessel (vortex) beams with selective polarizations on a light-absorptive sphere of arbitrary size

The optical spin torque (OST) induced by vector Bessel (vortex) beams can cause a particle to rotate around its center of mass. Previous works have considered the OST on a Rayleigh absorptive dielectric sphere by a vector Bessel (vortex) beam, however, it is of some importance to analyze the OST components for a sphere of arbitrary size. In this work, the generalized Lorenz-Mie theory (GLMT) is used to compute the OST induced by vector Bessel (vortex) beams on an absorptive dielectric sphere of arbitrary size, with particular emphasis on the beam order, the polarization of the plane wave component forming the beam, and the half-cone angle. The OST is expressed as the integration of the moment of the time averaged Maxwell stress tensor, and the beam shape coefficients (BSCs) are calculated using the angular spectrum decomposition method (ASDM). Using this theory, the OST exerted on the light-absorptive dielectric sphere in the Rayleigh, Mie or the geometrical optics regimes can be considered. The axial and transverse OSTs are numerically calculated with particular emphasis on the sign reversal of the axial OST and the vortex-like character of the transverse OST, and the effects of polarization, beam order, and half cone angle are discussed in detail. Numerical results show that by choosing an appropriate polarization, order and half-cone angle, the sign of the axial OST can be reversed, meaning that the sphere would spin in opposite handedness of the angular momentum carried by the incident beam. The vortex-like structure of the total transverse OSTs can be observed for all cases. When the sphere moves radially away from the beam axis, it may rotate around its center of mass in either the counter-clockwise or the clockwise direction. Conditions are also predicted where the absorptive sphere experiences no spinning. Potential applications in particle manipulation and rotation in optical tweezers and tractor beams would benefit from the results. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.