Multimode laser cooling and ultra-high sensitivity force sensing with nanowires

Photo-induced forces can be used to manipulate and cool the mechanical motion of oscillators. When the oscillator is used as a force sensor, such as in atomic force microscopy, active feedback is an enticing route to enhancing measurement performance. Here, we show broadband multimode cooling of $-23$ dB down to a temperature of $8 \pm 1$~K in the stationary regime. Through the use of periodic quiescence feedback cooling, we show improved signal-to-noise ratios for the measurement of transient signals. We compare the performance of real feedback to numerical post-processing of data and show that both methods produce similar improvements to the signal-to-noise ratio of force measurements. We achieved a room temperature force measurement sensitivity of $< 2\times10^{-16}$ N with integration time of less than $0.1$ ms. The high precision and fast force microscopy results presented will potentially benefit applications in biosensing, molecular metrology, subsurface imaging and accelerometry.Comment: 16 pages and 3 figures for the main text, 14 pages and 5 figures for the supplementary informatio

Enhanced photothermal cooling of nanowires

We investigate the optomechanical interaction between light and metallic nanowires through the action of bolometric forces. We show that the response time of the photothermal forces induced on the nanowire is fast and the strength of the interaction can overcome the radiation pressure force. Furthermore, we suggest the photothermal forces can be enhanced by surface plasmon excitation to cool the sub-megahertz vibrational modes of the nanowires close to its quantum limit

Synchronisation of micro-mechanical oscillators inside one cavity using feedback control

The purpose of this work is to develop a systematic approach towards synchronisation of two micro-mechanical oscillators inside one optical cavity using feedback control. We first obtain the linear quantum stochastic state space model for the optomechanical system considered in this paper. Then we design a measurement-based optimal controller, aimed at achieving complete quantum synchronisation of the two mechanical oscillators with different natural frequencies, in the linear quadratic Gaussian setting. In addition, simulation results are provided, which show how system parameters impact on the control effect. These findings shed light on the synchronised network of oscillators that can be used for memory and quantum state transfer.This research was supported by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (project number CE110001027), AFOSR Grant FA2386-12-1-4075, and the Australian Research Council Discovery Project program.

Clinical efficacy of an ultrasound-guided bilateral rectus sheath block for umbilical hernia repair in calves: A prospective randomized trial

Introduction: Surgical umbilical hernia repair is a frequent procedure in newborn calves, requiring mandatory pain management. This study aimed to develop an ultrasound-guided rectus sheath block (RSB) and to evaluate its clinical efficacy in calves undergoing umbilical herniorrhaphy under general field anesthesia. Methods: Gross and ultrasound anatomy of the ventral abdomen and the diffusion of a new methylene blue solution after injection within the rectus sheath were described in seven fresh calf cadavers. Then, fourteen calves undergoing elective herniorrhaphy were randomly assigned to receive either bilateral ultrasound-guided RSB with 0.3 mL/kg of bupivacaine 0.25% and 0.15 µg/kg of dexmedetomidine or 0.3 mL/kg of 0.9% NaCl (control). Intraoperative data included cardiopulmonary variables and anesthetic requirements. Postoperative data included pain scores, sedation scores and peri-incisional mechanical threshold assessed by force algometry at specific time points after anesthetic recovery. Treatments were compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum, Student's t-test, and Cox proportional hazard model as appropriate. Mixed effect linear models on rank, with random effect calf; fixed effects time, treatment, and their interaction were used to compare pain scores and mechanical thresholds over time. Significance was set at p = 0.05. Results and Discussion: Calves receiving RSB recorded lower pain scores between 45 – 120 minutes (p < 0.05) and at 240 min after recovery (p = 0.02). And they recorded higher mechanical thresholds between 45 and 120 min after surgery (p < 0.05). Ultrasound-guided RSB provided effective perioperative analgesia in calves undergoing herniorrhaphy under field conditions

Reintroducing hemp cultivation in Mediterranean areas (DiverIMPACTS Practice Abstract)

Low-input cultivation of available hemp cultivars has shown the robustness of the crop in harsh Mediterranean agro-climatic conditions. In rainfed conditions the crop is well adapted as a succession to wheat or pulses. The crop shows limited fertilisation requirements (in succession to pulses it requires no fertilization; especially when production is targeting flowers and grains), good water stress resilience (except for when in the germination phase), the ability to improve soil structure and a significant weed suppression capacity persisting up to the subsequent crop in the rotation. More suitable varieties (Picture 2 shows a variety trial in a DiverIMPACTS farm), hemp-related know-how (especially relating to the harvesting and management of the crop) and harvesting machinery still need to be further developed in order to improve the quality and competitiveness of the hemp food chains

Immigrants in agricultural sector in Sicily: the experience of Sicilia Integra project

The overview of the most relevant literature on migration, whose main issues were human rights, work in agriculture, cultural and social inclusion, highlighted one common point: the need to foster the legal work of migrants as a driver for social integration. This finding was confirmed by a CREA-PB survey that, after outlining the role of foreign workers in Sicilian agriculture, has emphasised how their state of isolation derived mainly from their bad housing conditions directly connected to illegal employment. The evaluation of the project “Sicilia Integra”, which was born under the patronage of the UN to include young immigrants in urban agriculture activities in Sicily, was carried out through the SWOT methodology for verifying if it could be spread in the Sicilian region

Dynamics and Stability of an Optically Levitated Mirror

We analyse the dynamics of a one-dimensional vertical Fabry-P\'erot cavity, where the upper mirror levitates due to intra-cavity radiation pressure force. A perturbative approach is used based around separation of timescales, which allows us to calculate the physical quantities of interest. Due to the dynamics of the cavity field, we find that the upper mirror's motion will always be unstable for levitation performed using only a single laser. Stability can be achieved for two lasers, where one provides the trapping potential and the other a damping effect, and we locate and characterise all parameter regimes where this can occur. Finally we analyse photothermal effects due to heating of the mirror substrate. We show that this can stabilise the system, even with only a single input laser, if it acts to increase the optical path length of the cavity. This work serves as a foundation for understanding how levitated optical cavity schemes can be used as stable metrological platforms.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures. Code & data available for download at github.com/ruvilecamwasam/lmdynamic

Observation of nonlinear dynamics in an optical levitation system

Optical levitation of mechanical oscillators has been suggested as a promising way to decouple the environmental noise and increase the mechanical quality factor. Here, we investigate the dynamics of a free-standing mirror acting as the top reflector of a vertical optical cavity, designed as a testbed for a tripod cavity optical levitation setup. To reach the regime of levitation for a milligram-scale mirror, the optical intensity of the intracavity optical field approaches 3 MW cm−2. We identify three distinct optomechanical effects: excitation of acoustic vibrations, expansion due to photothermal absorption, and partial lift-off of the mirror due to radiation pressure force. These effects are intercoupled via the intracavity optical field and induce complex system dynamics inclusive of high-order sideband generation, optical bistability, parametric amplification, and the optical spring effect. We modify the response of the mirror with active feedback control to improve the overall stability of the system