Observing and Verifying the Quantum Trajectory of a Mechanical Resonator

Continuous weak measurement allows localizing open quantum systems in state space, and tracing out their quantum trajectory as they evolve in time. Efficient quantum measurement schemes have previously enabled recording quantum trajectories of microwave photon and qubit states. We apply these concepts to a macroscopic mechanical resonator, and follow the quantum trajectory of its motional state conditioned on a continuous optical measurement record. Starting with a thermal mixture, we eventually obtain coherent states of 78% purity--comparable to a displaced thermal state of occupation 0.14. We introduce a retrodictive measurement protocol to directly verify state purity along the trajectory, and furthermore observe state collapse and decoherence. This opens the door to measurement-based creation of advanced quantum states, and potential tests of gravitational decoherence models.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure

Measurement-based quantum control of mechanical motion

Controlling a quantum system based on the observation of its dynamics is inevitably complicated by the backaction of the measurement process. Efficient measurements, however, maximize the amount of information gained per disturbance incurred. Real-time feedback then enables both canceling the measurement's backaction and controlling the evolution of the quantum state. While such measurement-based quantum control has been demonstrated in the clean settings of cavity and circuit quantum electrodynamics, its application to motional degrees of freedom has remained elusive. Here we show measurement-based quantum control of the motion of a millimetre-sized membrane resonator. An optomechanical transducer resolves the zero-point motion of the soft-clamped resonator in a fraction of its millisecond coherence time, with an overall measurement efficiency close to unity. We use this position record to feedback-cool a resonator mode to its quantum ground state (residual thermal occupation n = 0.29 +- 0.03), 9 dB below the quantum backaction limit of sideband cooling, and six orders of magnitude below the equilibrium occupation of its thermal environment. This realizes a long-standing goal in the field, and adds position and momentum to the degrees of freedom amenable to measurement-based quantum control, with potential applications in quantum information processing and gravitational wave detectors.Comment: New version with corrected detection efficiency as determined with a NIST-calibrated photodiode, added references and revised structure. Main conclusions are identical. 41 pages, 18 figure

Continuous Force and Displacement Measurement Below the Standard Quantum Limit

Quantum mechanics dictates that the precision of physical measurements must be subject to certain constraints. In the case of inteferometric displacement measurements, these restrictions impose a 'standard quantum limit' (SQL), which optimally balances the precision of a measurement with its unwanted backaction. To go beyond this limit, one must devise more sophisticated measurement techniques, which either 'evade' the backaction of the measurement, or achieve clever cancellation of the unwanted noise at the detector. In the half-century since the SQL was established, systems ranging from LIGO to ultracold atoms and nanomechanical devices have pushed displacement measurements towards this limit, and a variety of sub-SQL techniques have been tested in proof-of-principle experiments. However, to-date, no experimental system has successfully demonstrated an interferometric displacement measurement with sensitivity (including all relevant noise sources: thermal, backaction, and imprecision) below the SQL. Here, we exploit strong quantum correlations in an ultracoherent optomechanical system to demonstrate off-resonant force and displacement sensitivity reaching 1.5dB below the SQL. This achieves an outstanding goal in mechanical quantum sensing, and further enhances the prospects of using such devices for state-of-the-art force sensing applications.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure

Investigation on the Compressibility Characteristics of Low Mach Number Laminar Flow in Rotating Channel

In high-speed rotating channels, significant compressive effects are observed, resulting in distinct flow characteristics compared to incompressible flows. In this study, we employed a finite volume method based on the simple algorithm to solve for low-speed compressible laminar flow within rotating channels using an orthogonal uniform grid. The governing equations include the full Navier-Stokes equations and the energy equation. Contrary to stationary channel, the alterations in flow within rotating channel are primarily influenced by the compressive effects of centrifugal force and the compressibility of fluid within the flow's normal section. The first effect involves a reduction in the velocity due to centrifugal force, leading to an increasing influence of the Coriolis force compared to inertial forces along the flow direction. This trend in axial changes aligns closely with the increase in rotation speed. The second effect arises from the increase in Mach number and the Coriolis compression, resulting in slight density differences within the cross-section. Strong centrifugal forces generate significant centrifugal additional force (buoyancy force). Consequently, under the same local rotation number, the velocity profiles of the mainstream experience considerable changes. Additionally, higher Mach number significantly impact wall shear stress, with the leading side being notably affected. For instance, at a cross-sectional Ro = 0.6 and Ma = 0.035, the dimensionless shear stress on the leading side decreased by 13%. Furthermore, while an increase in Mach number has minimal impact on the cross-sectional secondary flow structure, changes in mainstream velocity profiles influence secondary flow intensity, resulting in an enhanced velocity peak and a shift towards the trailing side

Study of the Effect of a Novel Dimensionless Parameter -- the Centrifugal Work Number(CW), on Spanwise Rotating channel Low-speed Compressible Flow

In the study of similarity of rotating channel flow, we found that the flow obtained from the enlarged model under the theory of incompressible rotation similarity (maintaining geometric similarity and the same Reynolds number, rotation number, Prandtl number and buoyancy number) differs significantly from the flow inside the original channel. Through theoretical derivation and dimensional analysis, we discovered another significant parameter -- the centrifugal work number(CW), which characterizes the ratio of centrifugal work to gas enthalpy in the rotating channel and is an important parameter for measuring the compressibility of fluids inside the rotating channel. Moreover, we have verified the effect of the centrifugal work ratio on the flow state of the rotating channel using numerical methods, further improving the similarity theory of rotating channel compressible flow.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure

Exploiting the Security Aspects of Compressive Sampling

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