Controlling the net charge on a nanoparticle optically levitated in vacuum

Optically levitated nanoparticles in vacuum are a promising model system to test physics beyond our current understanding of quantum mechanics. Such experimental tests require extreme control over the dephasing of the levitated particle's motion. If the nanoparticle carries a finite net charge, it experiences a random Coulomb force due to fluctuating electric fields. This dephasing mechanism can be fully excluded by discharging the levitated particle. Here, we present a simple and reliable technique to control the charge on an optically levitated nanoparticle in vacuum. Our method is based on the generation of charges in an electric discharge and does not require additional optics or mechanics close to the optical trap

Stable moduli spaces of hermitian forms

We prove that Grothendieck-Witt spaces of Poincar\'e categories are, in many cases, group completions of certain moduli spaces of hermitian forms. This, in particular, identifies Karoubi's classical hermitian and quadratic K-groups with the genuine Grothendieck-Witt groups from our joint work with Calm\`es, Dotto, Harpaz, Land, Moi, Nardin and Nikolaus, and thereby completes our solution of several conjectures in hermitian K-theory. The method of proof is abstracted from work of Galatius and Randal-Williams on cobordism categories of manifolds using the identification of the Grothendieck-Witt space of a Poincar\'e category as the homotopy type of the associated cobordism category.Comment: 94 pages, v2: New appendix by Y.Harpaz that gives a simplified proof of the main result in a special case, furthermore added Section 8.4 about real algebraic K-spectra and made miscellaneous minor improvement

Multiplicative parametrized homotopy theory via symmetric spectra in retractive spaces

In order to treat multiplicative phenomena in twisted (co)homology, we introduce a new point-set-level framework for parametrized homotopy theory. We provide a convolution smash product that descends to the corresponding ∞-categorical product and allows for convenient constructions of commutative parametrized ring spectra. As an immediate application, we compare various models for generalized Thom spectra. In a companion paper, this approach is used to compare homotopical and operator algebraic models for twisted K-theory.publishedVersio