Optomechanics

We review recent progress in the field of optomechanics, where one studies the effects of radiation on mechanical motion. The paradigmatic example is an optical cavity with a movable mirror, where the radiation pressure can induce cooling, amplification and nonlinear dynamics of the mirror.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, submitted to the proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop 'Recent Advances in Nonlinear Dynamics and Complex System Physics', Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 200

Entanglement of mechanical oscillators coupled to a non-equilibrium environment

Recent experiments aim at cooling nanomechanical resonators to the ground state by coupling them to non-equilibrium environments in order to observe quantum effects such as entanglement. This raises the general question of how such environments affect entanglement. Here we show that there is an optimal dissipation strength for which the entanglement between two coupled oscillators is maximized. Our results are established with the help of a general framework of exact quantum Langevin equations valid for arbitrary bath spectra, in and out of equilibrium. We point out why the commonly employed Lindblad approach fails to give even a qualitatively correct picture

Multistability and spin diffusion enhanced lifetimes in dynamic nuclear polarization in a double quantum dot

The control of nuclear spins in quantum dots is essential to explore their many-body dynamics and exploit their prospects for quantum information processing. We present a unique combination of dynamic nuclear spin polarization and electric-dipole-induced spin resonance in an electrostatically defined double quantum dot (DQD) exposed to the strongly inhomogeneous field of two on-chip nanomagnets. Our experiments provide direct and unrivaled access to the nuclear spin polarization distribution and allow us to establish and characterize multiple fixed points. Further, we demonstrate polarization of the DQD environment by nuclear spin diffusion which significantly stabilizes the nuclear spins inside the DQD

Full photon statistics of a light beam transmitted through an optomechanical system

In this paper, we study the full statistics of photons transmitted through an optical cavity coupled to nanomechanical motion. We analyze the entire temporal evolution of the photon correlations, the Fano factor, and the effects of strong laser driving, all of which show pronounced features connected to the mechanical backaction. In the regime of single-photon strong coupling, this allows us to predict a transition from sub-Poissonian to super-Poissonian statistics for larger observation time intervals. Furthermore, we predict cascades of transmitted photons triggered by multi-photon transitions. In this regime, we observe Fano factors that are drastically enhanced due to the mechanical motion.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Enhanced quantum nonlinearities in a two mode optomechanical system

In cavity optomechanics, nanomechanical motion couples to a localized optical mode. The regime of single-photon strong coupling is reached when the optical shift induced by a single phonon becomes comparable to the cavity linewidth. We consider a setup in this regime comprising two optical modes and one mechanical mode. For mechanical frequencies nearly resonant to the optical level splitting, we find the photon-phonon and the photon-photon interactions to be significantly enhanced. In addition to dispersive phonon detection in a novel regime, this offers the prospect of optomechanical photon measurement. We study these QND detection processes using both analytical and numerical approaches

The optomechanical instability in the quantum regime

We consider a generic optomechanical system, consisting of a driven optical cavity and a movable mirror attached to a cantilever. Systems of this kind (and analogues) have been realized in many recent experiments. It is well known that those systems can exhibit an instability towards a regime where the cantilever settles into self-sustained oscillations. In this paper, we briefly review the classical theory of the optomechanical instability, and then discuss the features arising in the quantum regime. We solve numerically a full quantum master equation for the coupled system, and use it to analyze the photon number, the cantilever's mechanical energy, the phonon probability distribution and the mechanical Wigner density, as a function of experimentally accessible control parameters. We observe and discuss the quantum-to-classical transition as a function of a suitable dimensionless quantum parameter.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, subm. to focus issue of New Journal of Physics on "Mechanical Systems at the Quantum Limit

Self-induced oscillations in an optomechanical system

We have explored the nonlinear dynamics of an optomechanical system consisting of an illuminated Fabry-Perot cavity, one of whose end-mirrors is attached to a vibrating cantilever. Such a system can experience negative light-induced damping and enter a regime of self-induced oscillations. We present a systematic experimental and theoretical study of the ensuing attractor diagram describing the nonlinear dynamics, in an experimental setup where the oscillation amplitude becomes large, and the mirror motion is influenced by several optical modes. A theory has been developed that yields detailed quantitative agreement with experimental results. This includes the observation of a regime where two mechanical modes of the cantilever are excited simultaneously.Comment: 4.5 pages, 3 figures (v2: corrected few typos