Universal parity and duality asymmetries-based optical force/torque framework

Abstract: Understanding how the structured incident light interacts with the inherent properties of the manipulated particle and governs the optical force/torque exerted is a cornerstone in the design of optical manipulation techniques, apart from its theoretical significance. Based on the Cartesian multipole expansion theory, we establish a framework for optical force/torque exerted on an arbitrary sized bi-isotropic (chiral) spherical particle immersed in generic monochromatic optical fields. Rigorous expressions are thus derived which explicitly bridges such mechanical effects of light with particle-property-dependent coefficients and "force/torque source" quantities that characterize the incident light structures. Such quantities, totalled only 12, are quadratic in terms of electric and magnetic field vectors, among which are linear and angular momenta, gradient of energy density, spin density, and helicity. They are further organized into four categories based on their parity (P) and duality (D) symmetries and shown to couple with a particle with different P and D symmetries to induce optical force/torque. This classification specifies the symmetry-breaking criteria required to induce optical force/torque, offering a promising roadmap for engineering the optical manipulation.