Optical Binding Phenomena: Observations and Mechanisms

This thesis addresses optical binding - a new area of interest within the field of optical micromanipulation. It presents, for the first time, a rigorous numerical simulation of some of the key results, along with new experimental findings and also physical interpretations of the results. In an optical trap particles are attracted close to areas of high optical intensities and intensity gradients. So, for example, if two lasers are pointed towards each other (a counter propagating trap) the...