Fig. 3: Collective rotational velocities and inter-particle spacing in experiment and simulation.
From: Symmetry breaking-induced N-body electrodynamic forces in optical matter systems
a–c Experimental images of the three configurational states of the ring: (a) 43 particles with equal inter-particle spacing in a ring; (b) 43 particles with smaller inter-particle spacing in a ring with a gap; and (c) 44 particles in a filled ring. Radius of the ring is 4.1 μm. d Experimental velocity distributions for states (i)–(iii). The mean velocities (vertical dashed lines) from Gaussian fits (solid curve) to the data (circles) are 0.0049, 0.019, and 0.023 mm/s, respectively. e Corresponding inter-particle separations. The mean separations are 597.8, 588.0, and 587.5 nm, respectively. The thickness of the vertical solid lines represents their corresponding 95% confidence intervals. f Velocity distributions from GMMT-LD simulations for a ring with radius R = 4.05 μm and temperature T = 300 K for the same configurations of particles in experiment. The mean velocities (vertical dashed lines) are 0.018 mm/s (trimer), 0.937, 1.347, and 1.451 mm/s, for states (i)–(iii), respectively. g Corresponding inter-particle separation distribution. The mean separations are 577.1 nm (trimer), 595.3, 586.3, and 586.6 nm, for states (i)–(iii), respectively. See Supplementary Movies 4–6.
