Mode-locking in a colloidal ring driven by power-modulated optical tweezers (opens in new tab)

Particles and clusters moving across real-space periodic potentials can become locked to discrete directions or orientations due to competing symmetries. Here, we demonstrate an analogous locking phenomenon within a synthetic frequency space. We drive ring-shaped colloidal clusters using a circular optical tweezer array, where power modulation of the traps generates coexisting, distinct potential waves. Relative displacements between the cluster...