745 research outputs found
Probing optomechanical correlations between two optical beams down to the quantum level
Quantum effects of radiation pressure are expected to limit the sensitivity
of second-generation gravitational-wave interferometers. Though ubiquitous,
such effects are so weak that they haven't been experimentally demonstrated
yet. Using a high-finesse optical cavity and a classical intensity noise, we
have demonstrated radiation-pressure induced correlations between two optical
beams sent into the same moving mirror cavity. Our scheme can be extended down
to the quantum level and has applications both in high-sensitivity measurements
and in quantum optics
High-sensitivity optical monitoring of a micro-mechanical resonator with a quantum-limited optomechanical sensor
We experimentally demonstrate the high-sensitivity optical monitoring of a
micro-mechanical resonator and its cooling by active control. Coating a
low-loss mirror upon the resonator, we have built an optomechanical sensor
based on a very high-finesse cavity (30000). We have measured the thermal noise
of the resonator with a quantum-limited sensitivity at the 10^-19 m/rootHz
level, and cooled the resonator down to 5K by a cold-damping technique.
Applications of our setup range from quantum optics experiments to the
experimental demonstration of the quantum ground state of a macroscopic
mechanical resonator.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Radiation-pressure cooling and optomechanical instability of a micro-mirror
Recent experimental progress in table-top experiments or gravitational-wave
interferometers has enlightened the unique displacement sensitivity offered by
optical interferometry. As the mirrors move in response to radiation pressure,
higher power operation, though crucial for further sensitivity enhancement,
will however increase quantum effects of radiation pressure, or even jeopardize
the stable operation of the detuned cavities proposed for next-generation
interferometers. The appearance of such optomechanical instabilities is the
result of the nonlinear interplay between the motion of the mirrors and the
optical field dynamics. In a detuned cavity indeed, the displacements of the
mirror are coupled to intensity fluctuations, which modifies the effective
dynamics of the mirror. Such "optical spring" effects have already been
demonstrated on the mechanical damping of an electromagnetic waveguide with a
moving wall, on the resonance frequency of a specially designed flexure
oscillator, and through the optomechanical instability of a silica
micro-toroidal resonator. We present here an experiment where a
micro-mechanical resonator is used as a mirror in a very high-finesse optical
cavity and its displacements monitored with an unprecedented sensitivity. By
detuning the cavity, we have observed a drastic cooling of the micro-resonator
by intracavity radiation pressure, down to an effective temperature of 10 K. We
have also obtained an efficient heating for an opposite detuning, up to the
observation of a radiation-pressure induced instability of the resonator.
Further experimental progress and cryogenic operation may lead to the
experimental observation of the quantum ground state of a mechanical resonator,
either by passive or active cooling techniques
Cooling of a mirror by radiation pressure
We describe an experiment in which a mirror is cooled by the radiation
pressure of light. A high-finesse optical cavity with a mirror coated on a
mechanical resonator is used as an optomechanical sensor of the Brownian motion
of the mirror. A feedback mechanism controls this motion via the radiation
pressure of a laser beam reflected on the mirror. We have observed either a
cooling or a heating of the mirror, depending on the gain of the feedback loop.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, RevTe
Optomechanical characterization of acoustic modes in a mirror
We present an experimental study of the internal mechanical vibration modes
of a mirror. We determine the frequency repartition of acoustic resonances via
a spectral analysis of the Brownian motion of the mirror, and the spatial
profile of the acoustic modes by monitoring their mechanical response to a
resonant radiation pressure force swept across the mirror surface. We have
applied this technique to mirrors with cylindrical and plano-convex geometries,
and compared the experimental results to theoretical predictions. We have in
particular observed the gaussian modes predicted for plano-convex mirrors.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, RevTe
Continuous variable entanglement by radiation pressure
We show that the radiation pressure of an intense optical field impinging on
a perfectly reflecting vibrating mirror is able to entangle in a robust way the
first two optical sideband modes. Under appropriate conditions, the generated
entangled state is of EPR type [A. Einstein, {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. {\bf 47},
777 (1935)].Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Information, disturbance and Hamiltonian quantum feedback control
We consider separating the problem of designing Hamiltonian quantum feedback
control algorithms into a measurement (estimation) strategy and a feedback
(control) strategy, and consider optimizing desirable properties of each under
the minimal constraint that the available strength of both is limited. This
motivates concepts of information extraction and disturbance which are distinct
from those usually considered in quantum information theory. Using these
concepts we identify an information trade-off in quantum feedback control.Comment: 13 pages, multicol Revtex, 2 eps figure
Entangling macroscopic oscillators exploiting radiation pressure
It is shown that radiation pressure can be profitably used to entangle {\it
macroscopic} oscillators like movable mirrors, using present technology. We
prove a new sufficient criterion for entanglement and show that the achievable
entanglement is robust against thermal noise. Its signature can be revealed
using common optomechanical readout apparatus.Comment: 4 pages, 2 eps figures, new separability criterion added, new figure
2, authors list change
Reconstruction of the gravitational wave signal during the Virgo science runs and independent validation with a photon calibrator
The Virgo detector is a kilometer-scale interferometer for gravitational wave
detection located near Pisa (Italy). About 13 months of data were accumulated
during four science runs (VSR1, VSR2, VSR3 and VSR4) between May 2007 and
September 2011, with increasing sensitivity.
In this paper, the method used to reconstruct, in the range 10 Hz-10 kHz, the
gravitational wave strain time series from the detector signals is
described. The standard consistency checks of the reconstruction are discussed
and used to estimate the systematic uncertainties of the signal as a
function of frequency. Finally, an independent setup, the photon calibrator, is
described and used to validate the reconstructed signal and the
associated uncertainties.
The uncertainties of the time series are estimated to be 8% in
amplitude. The uncertainty of the phase of is 50 mrad at 10 Hz with a
frequency dependence following a delay of 8 s at high frequency. A bias
lower than and depending on the sky direction of the GW is
also present.Comment: 35 pages, 16 figures. Accepted by CQ
High-sensitivity AC-charge detection with a MHz-frequency fluxonium qubit
Owing to their strong dipole moment and long coherence times, superconducting
qubits have demonstrated remarkable success in hybrid quantum circuits.
However, most qubit architectures are limited to the GHz frequency range,
severely constraining the class of systems they can interact with. The
fluxonium qubit, on the other hand, can be biased to very low frequency while
being manipulated and read out with standard microwave techniques. Here, we
design and operate a heavy fluxonium with an unprecedentedly low transition
frequency of . We demonstrate resolved sideband cooling of
the ``hot'' qubit transition with a final ground state population of ,
corresponding to an effective temperature of . We further
demonstrate coherent manipulation with coherence times ,
, and single-shot readout of the qubit state.
Importantly, by directly addressing the qubit transition with a capacitively
coupled waveguide, we showcase its high sensitivity to a radio-frequency field.
Through cyclic qubit preparation and interrogation, we transform this
low-frequency fluxonium qubit into a frequency-resolved charge sensor. This
method results in a charge sensitivity of
, or an energy sensitivity (in joules per
hertz) of . This method rivals state-of-the-art transport-based
devices, while maintaining inherent insensitivity to DC charge noise. The high
charge sensitivity combined with large capacitive shunt unlocks new avenues for
exploring quantum phenomena in the range, such as the
strong-coupling regime with a resonant macroscopic mechanical resonator
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