Microwave Quantum Optomechanics

• Antragsteller: Dr. Ulrik Tobias Donner
• Fachliche Zuordnung: Optik, Quantenoptik und Physik der Atome, Moleküle und Plasmen
• Förderung: Förderung von 2009 bis 2011
• Projektkennung: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 118169510

The experiments proposed here aim to achieve maximum control over a macroscopic mechanical object which shows quantum mechanical behavior. Exploiting radiation pressure forces, we will cool a mechanical oscillator to its ground state and perform quantum- and sub-quantum-limited measurements on its position. In our realization, we will couple a nano-mechanical beam to a superconducting microwave cavity and use techniques developed in the framework of cavity optomechanics. The operation with microwave fields is a unique approach, complementary to the recent work on optomechanical systems in the optical domain. Using microwave frequencies allows us to benefit from several technical advantages like the scalability and flexibility of the design due to the fabrication with standard lithographic methods and the implementation of established quantum devices such as Cooper pair boxes and superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDS). Reaching the long standing goal of cooling a macroscopic object to its ground state will constitute an essential progress in this rapidly evolving new research field. The implementation of a quantum-limited microwave amplifier will allow us to demonstrate sub-quantum-limited measurements of the nano-mechanical beam’s position. This work contributes to a better understanding of optomechanical mechanisms. It opens possibilities ranging from answers to fundamental questions on the quantum-to-classical transition and the generation of squeezed states to ultra-sensitive displacement measurements.

• DFG-Verfahren: Forschungsstipendien
• Internationaler Bezug: USA
• Gastgeber: Professor Dr. Konrad W. Lehnert