You are not logged in.
This new topic is about optical systems, and not about astronomical LaGrange points.
However, the researchers whose discoveries are reported in the article at the link below used the astronomical balanced points in an astronomical context to try to explain their observations.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolo … ae7b&ei=25
Celestial dynamics in the vicinity of a stable Lagrange point. Lagrange points in the sun-Jupiter system. In the co-rotating frame, the potentials associated with the three unstable colinear Lagrange points (L1, L2 and L3) are saddle-shaped while those of L4 and L5 are stable, being maxima. The "Greek" and "Trojan" asteroid groups are captured around L4 and L5, respectively. Credit: Luo et al
Celestial dynamics in the vicinity of a stable Lagrange point. Lagrange points in the sun-Jupiter system. In the co-rotating frame, the potentials associated with the three unstable colinear Lagrange points (L1, L2 and L3) are saddle-shaped while those of L4 and L5 are stable, being maxima. The "Greek" and "Trojan" asteroid groups are captured around L4 and L5, respectively. Credit: Luo et al
© Provided by Phys.org
Reliably guiding and capturing optical waves is central to the functioning of various contemporary technologies, including communication and information processing systems. The most conventional approach to guide light waves leverages the total internal reflection of optical fibers and other similar structures, yet recently physicists have been exploring the potential of techniques based on other physical mechanisms.
Credit: Luo et al.
© Provided by Phys.orgResearchers at University of Southern California recently devised a highly innovative approach for trapping light. This method, introduced in Nature Physics, exploits the exotic properties of Lagrange points, the same equilibrium points that govern the orbits of primordial celestial bodies, such as so-called Trojan asteroids in the sun-Jupiter system.
"The discovery of Lagrange points, which happens to be pivotal in this research, can be traced back to the early work of Leonhard Euler and Joseph-Louis Lagrange, which found that at these locations, the gravitational attraction exerted by two large bodies can be precisely counterbalanced by centrifugal forces," Mercedeh Khajavikhan and Demetrios N. Christodoulides, co-authors of the paper, told Phys.org.
"While some of these points, notably and, are already employed as strategic positions in space for satellite stability with minimal propellant consumption (as exemplified by the James Webb telescope and the recently deployed Aditya L1 satellite), our study focuses on the intriguing properties of and Lagrange points."
Trojan asteroids are a large group of asteroids circling the sun on the same orbit as the planet Jupiter. Lagrange points, named after the renowned mathematician Lagrange who uncovered them, are positions in space in which the gravitational force of two bodies in the same system (e.g., the sun and Jupiter) produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion.
As part of their study, Khajavikhan and Christodoulides set out to investigate the potential of utilizing the unique physics of these positions to guide and trap light waves. In their paper, the researchers showed that the use of and Lagrange points for optical applications in some ways resembles capturing Trojan asteroids within the sun-Jupiter orbit.
"The Lagrange optical waveguide is induced by passing current through a helical wire in a cured silicon oil cylinder," Khajavikhan and Christodoulides said.
"By means of the thermo-optic effect, this in turn produces a twisted index landscape where in this case, the photon repulsion is balanced by the centrifugal force. Counterintuitively, in this mountain-slope index profile, a stable Lagrange point, is produced and as a result, a Trojan optical beam is trapped in a two-dimensional fashion at this position."
As part of their study, Khajavikhan and Christodoulides created a compact system in their laboratory reproducing the properties of Lagrange points, such as those observed in the orbits of Trojan asteroids. Their laboratory-built system was comprised of a helically-shaped iron wire inserted in a medium with a temperature-dependent refractive index.
The researchers could later heat this medium in a non-homogeneous way by passing electricity through the wire. Ultimately, this process enabled the formation of what they refer to as a Trojan optical beam.
This simple experiment led to very interesting observations. Interestingly, the researchers found that optical Trojan beams could be guided or captured in this defocusing refractive index environment, something that is not feasible under normal circumstances.
"More importantly, the refractive index landscape where these optical beams are captured is completely unremarkable, having no features whatsoever that could foretell a guiding response," Khajavikhan and Christodoulides said. "In essence, the optical beam is trapped in a nowhere land—in completely inconspicuous regions where no conventional waveguide structures exist."
The recent work by this team of researchers shows the unique characteristics of Lagrange points can be leveraged to guide and trap light waves. In the future, it could form the development of new techniques to guide optical waves in unconventional environments when conventional approaches are ineffective, such as in liquids and gases.
"A possible avenue for further exploration could be the use of Trojan beams in amplifying (laser) systems, where optical gain or loss can establish alternative means for beam attraction or repulsion in fully dielectric media," Khajavikhan and Christodoulides said.
So far, the researchers have only focused on the use of Lagrange points for guiding light beams. However, in the future the methodology they developed could also be tested in other areas of physics reaching beyond optics, for instance as a technique to guide acoustic waves or ultracold atoms.
"At this point, we plan to explore the possibility of guiding light in acoustic waves in both liquid and gaseous media," Khajavikhan and Christodoulides added. "Finally, of interest would be to observe for the first-time trapping and transporting dielectric micro- and nano-particles in Lagrange waveguides using optical tractor beams where multiple Lagrange points can be induced—an aspect that is not possible in celestial mechanics."
More information: Haokun Luo et al, Guiding Trojan light beams via Lagrange points, Nature Physics (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-023-02270-6
© 2024 Science X Network
I'm not sure what to make of this research, but it sure is bleeding edge.
(th)
Offline
Like button can go here
The Martian trojans are a group objects that share the orbit of Mars around the Sun and can be found around the two Lagrangian points 60° ahead of and behind Mars
Astronomers confirm a new “Trojan” asteroid that shares an orbit with Mars
https://www.iac.es/en/outreach/news/ast … orbit-mars
Guiding Trojan light beams via Lagrange points
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-023-02270-6
MTO Would Have Extended the Internet to Mars
http://www.spacetoday.org/SolSys/Mars/M … n/MTO.html
Laser beam. While the optical communication signals arriving at Earth would have been susceptible to blocking by clouds, they would have been able to carry 10,000 times more data than microwave radio signals.
Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2024-03-23 07:14:43)
Offline
Like button can go here
It is good to see addition to this topic! The specific focus of this topic is so narrow, there may not be many additions, but Mars_B4_Moon found one ... here is text that appears at the link shown in Post #2:
Post #1 appears to point to the article that Mars_B4_Moon found.
More information: Haokun Luo et al, Guiding Trojan light beams via Lagrange points, Nature Physics (2024).
DOI: 10.1038/s41567-023-02270-6
Nature Physics
Article
Published: 03 January 2024
Guiding Trojan light beams via Lagrange points
Haokun Luo, Yunxuan Wei, Fan O. Wu, Georgios G. Pyrialakos, Demetrios N. Christodoulides & Mercedeh Khajavikhan
Nature Physics volume 20, pages 95–100 (2024) Cite this article2535 Accesses
1 Citations
89 Altmetric
Metrics details
Abstract
The guided transmission of optical waves is critical for light-based applications in modern communication, information processing and energy generation systems. Traditionally, the guiding of light waves in structures such as optical fibres has been predominantly achieved through the use of total internal reflection. In periodic platforms, a variety of other physical mechanisms can also be deployed to transport optical waves. However, transversely confining light in fully dielectric, non-periodic and passive configurations remains a challenge in situations where total internal reflection is not supported. Here we present an approach to trapping light that utilizes the exotic features of Lagrange points—a special class of equilibrium positions akin to those responsible for capturing Trojan asteroids in celestial mechanics. This is achieved in twisted arrangements in which optical Coriolis forces induce guiding channels even at locations where the refractive index landscape is defocusing or entirely unremarkable. These findings may have implications beyond standard optical waveguiding schemes and could also apply to other physical systems such as acoustics, electron beams and ultracold atoms.(more information is available)
Offline
Like button can go here