Category: Presentation

Dynamics of an active nanoparticle in an optical trap

Dynamics of an active nanoparticle in an optical trap
Falko Schmidt, Hana Šípová-Jungová, Mikael Käll, Alois Würger, Giovanni Volpe

Click here to see the slides.
Twitter Link: here.

Active matter systems in non-equilibrium conditions have recently gained great interest from many disciplines such as micro and nanomachines and in living organisms. Probing the dynamics of active Brownian particles (ABPs) under confinement such as found in biological systems gives insight into their non-equilibrium processes. Although previous studies [1-4] have shown the effect of confinement on ABPs on the microscale and macroscale investigating dynamics on the nanoscale remains challenging where thermal fluctuations typically prevail. Here, we are investigating experimentally and theoretically a nanoscopic particle in the harmonic potential of an optical trap and driven away from equilibrium by self-induced concentration gradients. We find that a nanoparticle performs fast orbital rotation at finite distance from the trap center and its probability density shifts from a Gaussian to a skewed distribution. Furthermore, we show that by transfer of spin angular momentum from the trapping beam the direction of the particle’s rotation can be controlled. We develop a theoretical model of this system which reveals that the driving mechanism of such fast rotation is the particle’s non-sphericity providing insight for the development of future nanoscopic engines.

References

[1] S. C. Takatori et al., Nat. Comm., 7, 10694 (2016)
[2] O. Dauchot & V. Démery, Phys. Rev. Lett., 122, 068002 (2019)
[3] A. Pototsky & H. Stark, EPL, 98, 5004 (2012)
[4] F. Schmidt et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 120, 068004 (2018)

Poster Session
Time: June 22nd 2020
Place: Twitter

POM Conference
Link: POM
Time: June 25th 2020
Place: Online

Poster Slides

Falko Schmidt – POM Poster – Page 1
Falko Schmidt – POM Poster – Page 2
Falko Schmidt – POM Poster – Page 3
Falko Schmidt – POM Poster – Page 4

Soft Matter Lab presentations at the Photonics Online Meet-up, 22 June 2020

Six members of the Soft Matter Lab (Aykut Argun, Falko Schmidt, Laura Pérez-Garcia, Saga Helgadottir, Alessandro Magazzù, Daniel Midtvedt) were selected for poster presentations at the Photonics Online Meet-up (POM).

POM is an entirely free virtual conference. It aims to bring together a community of early career and established researchers from universities, industry, and government working in optics and photonics.

The meeting, at its second edition, will be held on June 25th 2020, 9-14.30 Central European Time. The virtual poster session will take place on June 22nd, on Twitter and virtual reality.

The poster contributions being presented are:

Aykut Argun
Enhanced force-field calibration via machine learning
Twitter Link: here.

Falko Schmidt
Dynamics of an active nanoparticle in an optical trap
Twitter Link: here.

Laura Pérez-García
Optical force field reconstruction using Brownian trajectories
Twitter Link: here.

Saga Helgadottir
DeepTrack: A comprehensive deep learning framework for digital microscopy
Twitter Link: here.

Alessandro Magazzù
Controlling the dynamics of colloidal particles by critical Casimir forces
Twitter Link: here.

Daniel Midtvedt
Holographic characterisation of subwavelength particles enhanced by deep learning
Twitter Link: here.

Link: Photonics Online Meet-up (POM)

Seminar by G. Volpe at ICFO, 16 June 2020

Lucky Encounters: From Optical Tweezers to deep Learning
Giovanni Volpe
ICFO Alumni Seminar (Online)
16 June 2020

In this semi-autobiographical talk, I will look back at my career and its evolution. It all started at ICFO with a PhD on optical tweezers in 2008. It then continued with a series of diverse research projects on different fields: active matter, stochastic thermodynamics, neurosciences and, finally, deep learning. I will emphasize how my career has been shaped by lucky encounters. Encounters that have taken me to places and topics I’d never have imagined beforehand. But it all makes sense, in insight.

Date: 16 June 2020
Time: 15:00
Place: Online

Presentation by S. Helgadottir at SAIS Workshop, 17 June 2020

Saga Helgadottir will give a presentation at the 32nd annual workshop of the Swedish Artificial Intelligence Society (SAIS), that will be held as an online conference on June 16 – 17, 2020.

The SAIS workshop is a forum for building the Swedish AI research community and nurture networks across academia and industry. Because of the concern for the COVID-19, the workshop this year is an online conference.

The contributions of Saga Helgadottir will be presented according to the following schedule:

Saga Helgadottir
Medical Diagnosis with Machine Learning
Date: 17 June 2020
Time: 15:00 CEST

Link: SAIS Workshop 2020 program

Invited talk by G. Volpe at Nanolight, Benasque, Spain, 8-14 March 2020

Giovanni Volpe will give an invited presentation at Nanolight 2020.

The conference, organized by Luis Martín Moreno (ICMA, CSIC – U. Zaragoza) and Niek van Hulst (ICFO, Barcelona), aims at the exploration of the frontiers in the field of subwavelength optics. It is meant to facilitate the interaction between worldwide researchers working in the field, with a special emphasis on interaction between young and more experienced researchers.
The conference is held in Benasque, Spain, from 8 to 14 March 2020.

The contributions of Giovanni Volpe will be presented according to the following schedule:

Giovanni Volpe
Deep Learning for Microscopy
Date: 12 March 2020
Time: 15:35 CET

Link: Nanolight 2020 program

Invited talks by G. Volpe and A. Magazzù at “SPACE Tweezers” Kick-off Meeting, Messina, Italy, 18-19 February 2020

Alessandro Magazzù and Giovanni Volpe will give invited presentations at the Kick-off meeting of SPACE Tweezers (Spectroscopy of Planetary and AtmospheriC particulatE by optical Tweezers).

SPACE Tweezers proposes research activities to trap and characterise spectroscopically extraterrestrial particles and their analogs. The opportunity to apply optical tweezers to planetary particulate matter can pave the way for space applications for in situ analyses and/or for sample return of particles in pristine conditions, i.e. preventing contamination and alteration, unlike collection methods so far used in space exploration.

The meeting, organised by Maria Grazia Donato, Pietro Guicciardi, Maria Antonia Iatì, and Onofrio M. Maragò, will take place at CNR-IPCF, Messina, on 18-19 February 2020.

The contributions of Giovanni Volpe and Alessandro Magazzù will be presented  according to the following schedule:

Giovanni Volpe
Optical Tweezers Activities in Gothenburg
Date: 19 February 2020
Time: 10:55 CET

Alessandro Magazzù
Controlling the Dynamics of Colloidal Particles by Critical Casimir Forces using Blinking Optical Tweezers
Date: 19 February 2020
Time: 11:20 CET

 

 

 

Poster presentation by F. Schmidt at the Light at the Nanoscale conference, 5 December 2019

Light-induced phase separation power novel micro machines
Falko Schmidt, and Giovanni Volpe
Light at the Nanoscale Conference, Chalmers University, Gothenburg, Sweden
5 December 2019, 16:30-18:30

Focused laser light is used to trap a micronsized absorbing particle around its beam center where it performs constant orbital rotation. The light-induced local phase separations create a concentration gradient on which the particle moves along. Large patches of absorbing material on the particle’s surface give rise to a torque required for steady rotation1

Phase separation is a phenomena that commonly exists in nature, from the freezing of ice to the intrinsic mechanism of the cell to order matter. We are exploiting phase separations to produce new types of miniaturised machines, in particular micron and nano sized engines1as well as to form self-assembled colloidal molecules2. We control their behaviour using only light and varying its ambient temperature making this a simple tool to study complex matter3. This will enhance the development of future medicine where nano robots deliver drugs specifically to the local infection side.

References:1. F. Schmidt et al. Microscopic engine powered by critical demixing, Phys Rev Lett 120, 068004, 2018

2. F. Schmidt et al. Light-controlled assembly of active colloidal molecules, J Chem Phys150, 094905, 2019

3. S. Bo et al. Measurement of anomalous diffusion using recurrent neural networks, Phys Rev E 100, 010102(R), 2019

Invited talk by G. Volpe at BRC Day “Biomaterials meets AI”, Gothenburg, Sweden, 12 November 2019

Machine learning as a tool for the natural sciences: Opportunities and challenges
Giovanni Volpe
Invited Talk at BRC Day “Biomaterials meets AI”, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, 12 November 2019

Abstract: Data-driven machine-learning methods are more and more widely used in the natural sciences. Machine learning offers unprecedented opportunities, but it also poses unexpected practical and fundamental challenges. Most importantly, machine-learning methods often work as black boxes, and therefore it can be difficult to understand and interpret their results. Here, we present an overview of the current state of the art of the adoption of machine learning in active-matter research. Finally, we discuss the opportunities and challenges that are emerging, highlighting how active matter and machine learning can work together for mutual benefit.

Bio: Giovanni Volpe is Associate Professor at the University of Gothenburg, where he leads the Soft Matter Lab (http://www.softmatterlab.org/).
He has published more than 80 articles on diverse topics including optical trapping, active matter, neurosciences, and machine learning.
He has co-authored the book “Optical Tweezers: Principles and Applications” (Cambridge University Press, 2015).
He is the recipient the ERC Starting Grant ComplexSwimmers, coordinator of the MSCA Innovative Training Networks ActiveMatter, and the KAW research grant “Active Matter Goes Smart”.
He is one of the chairs of the Conference Emerging Topics in Artificial Intelligence at the SPIE Optics & Photonics Meeting held annually in San Diego (CA).