Dynamics of small particles in electromagnetic radiation fields : A numerical solution

We establish a theoretical framework for solving the equations of motion for an arbitrarily shaped, inhomogeneous dust particle in the presence of radiation pressure. The repeated scattering problem involved is solved using a state-of-the-art volume integral equation-based T-matrix method. A Fortran implementation of the framework is used to solve the explicit time evolution of a homogeneous irregular sample geometry. The results are shown to be consistent with rigid body dynamics, between integrators, and comparable with predictions from an alignment efficiency potential map. Also, we demonstrate the explicit effect of single-particle dynamics to observed polarization using the obtained orientational results.Peer reviewe