Local scattering stress distribution on surface of a spherical cell in optical stretcher

Abstract

We calculate stress distribution on the surface of a spherical cell trapped by two counter propagating beams in the optical stretcher in the ray optics regime. We demonstrate that the local scattering stress is perpendicular to the spherical refractive surface regardless of incident angle, polarization and the reflectance and transmittance at the surface. We explain the apparition of peaks in the stress distribution, which were not revealed in the existing theory. We consider the divergence of the incident beams from the fibers, and express the stress distribution as a function of fiber-to-cell distance. The new theory can predict the cell's deformation more precisely.