Single Bessel tractor-beam tweezers

•The acoustic radiation force of a finite Bessel beam is derived.•Conditions are found where the acoustical waves act as a tractor beam.•Numerical predictions are provided using a partial-wave expansion method.

The tractor behavior of a zero-order Bessel acoustic beam acting on a fluid sphere, and emanating from a finite circular aperture (as opposed to waves of infinite extent) is demonstrated theoretically. Conditions for an attractive force acting in opposite direction of the radiating waves, determined by the choice of the beam’s half-cone angle, the size of the radiator, and its distance from a fluid sphere, are established and discussed. Numerical predictions for the radiation force function, which is the radiation force per unit energy density and cross-sectional surface, are provided using a partial-wave expansion method stemming from the acoustic scattering. The results suggest a simple and reliable analysis for the design of Bessel beam acoustical tweezers and tractor beam devices.