Optical force exerted on a Rayleigh particle by a vector arbitrary-order Bessel beam

•Optical force exerted on a Rayleigh particle by a vector Bessel beam is analytically derived.•Radial, azimuthal, and axial forces are numerically analyzed.•The effect of polarization, order of beam, and non-paraxiality is analyzed.

An analytical description of optical force on a Rayleigh particle by a vector Bessel beam is investigated. Linearly, radially, azimuthally, and circularly polarized Bessel beams are considered. The radial, azimuthal, and axial forces by a vector Bessel beam are numerically simulated. The effect of polarization, order of beams, and half-cone angle to the optical force are mainly discussed. For Bessel beams of larger half-cone angle, the non-paraxiality of beams plays an important role in optical forces. Numerical calculations show that optical forces, especially azimuthal forces, are very sensitive to the polarization of beams.