Dynamic optical torque control via a single linearly polarized plane wave in an inverse-designed coherent optical environment

Abstract

We propose a scheme for dynamically controlling optical torque on Mie-sized particles using a single linearly polarized plane wave, assisted by a fixed coherent optical environment constructed from multiple interfering plane waves and designed using a back-propagation-based inverse design algorithm. Our design accounts for all physical mechanisms that can induce optical torque, rather than relying solely on spin angular momentum. Such an approach ensures an accurate one-to-one mapping between the polarization of the control wave and the resulting torque orientation. The method introduces an additional degree of freedom for dynamic and programmable torque control using simple, physically realizable plane waves and offers a strategy for polarization-encoded optical torque control.