28. August 2026
(CONNECT) An international research team from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) based in Villigen in the canton of Aargau, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) and the University of Amsterdam has succeeded in directly observing the optical Magnus effect for the first time. The Amsterdam-based researchers had theoretically predicted the existence of the optical Magnus effect several years ago. As detailed in a statement, the researchers directed a tightly focused laser beam at a single calcium ion. Observations of the optical interactions revealed that the strongest effects did not occur at the center, where the laser beam is most tightly focused, but rather slightly off-center. The cause of this phenomenon was identified as a significant change in the spatial structure of the electromagnetic field surrounding the laser beam.
This observed effect is known as the optical Magnus effect, corresponding to its counterpart from classical mechanics. In this context, a rotating cylinder in irrotational flow is deflected at right angles to its direction of motion. Sports fans will be familiar with this phenomenon, which is seen in the form of topspin on table tennis balls or the way footballers are able to impart swerve onto the ball.
In the present experiment, the researchers demonstrated that the primary effect of the laser beam was strongest to the side of the calcium ion. In quantum computers, such a displacement could lead to a loss of control over qubits that have to be precisely manipulated using laser light. However, taking this effect into account also presents an opportunity. “The forces it generates could be used to couple qubits to one another, enabling more complex computations”, as Philip Leindecker from the PSI Center for Photon Science explains in the statement.
For the experiment, the researchers used a calcium ion fixed in position by electromagnetic fields. By irradiating it with a tightly focused laser, displacements of a few hundred nanometers could be measured. Altering the wavelength of the beam additionally amplified or diminished the effect.
The study has been published in the journal “Physical Review Letters”. ce/ww
