Noise thermometry and electron thermometry of a sample-on-cantilever system below 1 Kelvin

We have used two types of thermometry to study thermal fluctuations in a microcantilever-based system below 1 K. We measured the temperature of a cantilever's macroscopic degree-of-freedom (via the Brownian motion of its lowest flexural mode) and its microscopic degrees-of-freedom (via the electron temperature of a metal sample mounted on the cantilever). We also measured both temperatures' response to a localized heat source. We find it possible to maintain thermal equilibrium between these two temperatures and a refrigerator down to at least 300 mK. These results are promising for ongoing experiments to probe quantum effects using micromechanical devices

Analytic and Numerical Aspects of the Nonsingular Laplacian Representation of the Asymptotic Part of the Layered-Medium Green Function in the Mixed Potential Formulation

We report on developments in the evaluation of matrix elements of the electric and magnetic field operators involving the asymptotic (large transverse wave-number or small transverse distances) components of the mixed-potential Green's function of a layered medium. Subtracting these asymptotic terms significantly accelerates numerical computation of the Sommerfeld-type integrals required in constructing Green's function and then the matrix elements [1]

New Simplified Analytic Expressions for the Matrix Elements of the Asymptotic Part of the Layered Medium Green Function in the Mixed Potential Formulation

We report new developments in the analytical evaluation of the near-field contribution to the matrix elements of the electric and magnetic field operators for planar conducting structures embedded in a layered medium. The method is applicable to Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions supported on parallel interfaces in the medium. Our method is an extension of the approach described in [1] of representing a Green function as a two-dimensional Laplacian of an auxiliary function. Such Laplacian representations can be obtained for the asymptotic forms of the Green functions, which are being subtracted in order to regularize the behavior of the Sommerfeld-type integrals. Matrix elements resulting from these asymptotic forms, given originally as quadruple surface integrals with singular integrands, are then reduced to double contour integrals over the perimeters of the surface elements, involving simple closed-form non-singular auxiliary functions

Mesoscopic persistent currents in a strong magnetic field

Recent precision measurements of mesoscopic persistent currents in normal-metal rings rely on the interaction between the magnetic moment generated by the current and a large applied magnetic field. Motivated by this technique, we extend the theory of mesoscopic persistent currents to include the effect of the finite thickness of the ring and the resulting penetration of the large magnetic field. We discuss both the sample-specific typical current and the ensemble-averaged current which is dominated by the effects of electron-electron interactions. We find that the magnetic field strongly suppresses the interaction-induced persistent current and so provides direct access to the independent-electron contribution. Moreover, the technique allows for measurements of the entire distribution function of the persistent current. We also discuss the consequences of the Zeeman splitting and spin-orbit scattering, and include a detailed and quantitative comparison of our theoretical results to experimental data.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Measuring mechanical motion with a single spin

We study theoretically the measurement of a mechanical oscillator using a single two level system as a detector. In a recent experiment, we used a single electronic spin associated with a nitrogen vacancy center in diamond to probe the thermal motion of a magnetized cantilever at room temperature {Kolkowitz et al., Science 335, 1603 (2012)}. Here, we present a detailed analysis of the sensitivity limits of this technique, as well as the possibility to measure the zero point motion of the oscillator. Further, we discuss the issue of measurement backaction in sequential measurements and find that although backaction heating can occur, it does not prohibit the detection of zero point motion. Throughout the paper we focus on the experimental implementation of a nitrogen vacancy center coupled to a magnetic cantilever; however, our results are applicable to a wide class of spin-oscillator systems. Implications for preparation of nonclassical states of a mechanical oscillator are also discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure