title: Self-steering partially coherent beams.
abstract: We introduce a class of shape-invariant partially coherent beams with a moving guiding center which we term self-steering partially coherent beams. The guiding center of each such beam evolves along a straight line trajectory which can be engineered to make any angle with the x-axis. We show that the straight line trajectory of the guiding center is the only option in free space due to the linear momentum conservation. We experimentally generate a particular subclass of new beams, self-steering Gaussian Schell beams and argue that they can find applications for mobile target tracing and trapped micro- and/or nanoparticle transport.
authors.affiliation: College of physics, Optoelectronics and Energy &Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.|Key Lab of Advanced Optical Manufacturing Technologies of Jiangsu Province &Key Lab of Modern Optical Technologies of Education Ministry of China, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
authors.forename: Yahong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 2X4, Canada.
authors.forename: Sergey A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ponomarenko
authors.affiliation: College of physics, Optoelectronics and Energy &Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.|Key Lab of Advanced Optical Manufacturing Technologies of Jiangsu Province &Key Lab of Modern Optical Technologies of Education Ministry of China, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
authors.forename: Yangjian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cai