Long-range one-dimensional longitudinal optical binding

We create extended longitudinally optically bound chains of microparticles with the use of counterpropagating “nondiffracting” light fields, the so-called Bessel beams. The beam homogeneity and extended propagation range allow the creation of 200 µm long chains of organized microparticles. We observe short-range multistability within a single chain and long-range multistability between several distinct chains. Our observations are supported by theoretical results of the coupled dipole method.