Noise-enabled optical ratchets

In this contribution, we report on the implementation of a novel noise-enabled optical ratchet system. We demonstrate that, unlike commonly-used ratchet schemes—where complex asymmetric optical potentials are needed—efficient transport of microparticles across a one-dimensional optical lattice can be produced by introducing controllable noise in the system. This work might open interesting routes towards the development of new technologies aimed at enhancing the efficiency of transport occurring at the micro- and nanoscale, from novel particle-sorting tools to efficient molecular motors.