Scattering of laser beams and the optical potential well for a homogeneous sphere

A theory is developed for the scattering of a fundamental-mode laser beam by a homogeneous sphere located in the beam passage. The expression for the incident laser beam is obtained by using the complex-source-point method, and the light-field distributions inside and outside the sphere are given. The formulas for the energies scattered and absorbed by the sphere and for the radiation pressure exerted on the sphere are derived, and their qualitative features are discussed. Results of numerical calculation of the radiation pressure and their physical interpretations are presented. All the analytical formalism is generalized for immediate treatment of the scattering of higher-order Hermite–Gaussian-mode laser beams by a homogeneous sphere.