Levitated Electromechanics

Summary: Optical tweezers have been used to trap and examine molecular and atomic particles in a wide range of fields. Using a similar theoretical framework, we propose to trap particles in a vacuum using only electric fields, eliminating the need to correct for photon scattering effects, for example, and allowing us to probe effects in high vacuum conditions (conditions under which traditional optical tweezers become too unstable). We hope to use this technique to examine quantum behaviour, and we are also discussing the possibility of creating electric field analogues of the energy landscapes of biological processes with Dr Katelyn Spillane of the BPSM research group.