Optical Tractor Beam with Chiral Light

Abstract

We suggest a novel mechanism to induce the motion of a chiral material body towards an optical source. Our solution is based on the interference between a chiral light beam and its reflection on an opaque mirror. Surprisingly, it is theoretically shown that the electromagnetic response of the material may be tailored in such a way that independent of the specific body location with the respect to the mirror, it is always pushed upstream against the photon flow associated with the incoming wave. Moreover, it is proven that by controlling the handedness of the incoming light it may be possible to harness the sign of the optical force, switching from a pulling force to a pushing force.