Optical trapping and binding in air: Imaging and spectroscopic analysis

We report on an experimental study of direct and spectroscopic imaging of optically trapped Mie droplets in air. The scattering of the trapping beams gives glare points at the droplets' azimuths. Spectroscopic measurements involving polarized light are performed to precisely determine both the droplet sizes and refraction index using Mie scattering theory. Experimental pictures are compared to rigorous numerical simulations. We also include some results on imaging of whispering gallery resonances and conclude with a brief discussion on the possibility of efficiently exciting whispering gallery resonances via radiative coupling.