Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:0807.2347 · Science

Cavity Optomechanics with a Bose-Einstein Condensate

Ferdinand Brennecke, Stephan Ritter, Tobias Donner, Tilman Esslinger

Published Sep 11, 2008• 583 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Cavity optomechanics studies the coupling between a mechanical oscillator and the electromagnetic field in a cavity. We report on a cavity optomechanical system in which a collective density excitation of a Bose-Einstein condensate serves as the mechanical oscillator coupled to the cavity field. A few photons inside the ultrahigh-finesse cavity trigger strongly driven back-action dynamics, in quantitative agreement with a cavity optomechanical model. We approach the strong coupling regime of cavity optomechanics, where a single excitation of the mechanical oscillator substantially influences the cavity field. The results open up new directions for investigating mechanical oscillators in the quantum regime and the border between classical and quantum physics.

DOI
10.1126/science.1163218

Related papers

Cavity optomechanics with a trapped, interacting bose-einstein condensate

Nagy, Dávid, Gergely Szirmai, P. Domokos

The dispersive interaction of a Bose-Einstein condensate with a single mode of a high-finesse optical cavity realizes the radiation pressure coupling Hamiltonian. In this system the role of the mechanical oscillator is played by a single condensate excitation mode that is selected by the cavity mode function. We study the effect of atomic s-wave collisions and show that it merely renormalizes parameters of the usual optomechanical interaction. Moreover, we show that even in the case of strong harmonic confinement – which invalidates the use of Bloch states – a single excitation mode of the Bose-Einstein condensate couples significantly to the light field, that is the simplified picture of a single "mechanical" oscillator mode remains valid.

•Jan 1, 2013•1 citation

Optomechanical atom-cavity interaction in the sub-recoil regime

Hans Keßler, Jens Klinder, Matthias Wolke +1 more

We study the optomechanical interaction of a Bose–Einstein condensate with a single longitudinal mode of an ultra-high finesse standing wave optical resonator. As a unique feature the resonator combines three extreme regimes, previously not realized together, i.e., strong cooperative coupling, cavity dominated scattering with a Purcell factor far above unity, and sub-recoil resolution provided by a cavity damping rate smaller than four times the single photon recoil frequency. We present experimental observations in good agreement with a two-mode model predicting highly nonlinear dynamics with signatures as bistability, hysteresis, persistent oscillations, and superradiant back-scattering instabilities.

arXiv:1403.3545•New Journal of Physics•May 6, 2014•36 citations

Spin-orbit-coupling-induced backaction cooling in cavity optomechanics with a Bose-Einstein condensate

Kashif Ammar Yasir, Lin Zhuang, Wu-Ming Liu

We report a spin-orbit-coupling-induced backaction cooling in an optomechanical system, composed of a spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in an optical cavity with one movable end mirror, by suppressing heating effects of quantum noises. The collective density excitations of the spin-orbit-coupling-mediated hyperfine states---serving as atomic oscillators equally coupled to the cavity field---trigger strongly driven atomic backaction. We find that the backaction not only revamps low-temperature dynamics of its own but also provides an opportunity to cool the mechanical mirror to its quantum-mechanical ground state. Further, we demonstrate that the strength of spin-orbit coupling also superintends dynamic structure factor and squeezes nonlinear quantum noises, like thermomechanical and photon shot noise, which enhances optomechanical features of the hybrid cavity beyond previous investigations. Our findings are testable in a realistic setup and enhance the functionality of cavity optomechanics with spin-orbit-coupled hyperfine states in the field of quantum optics and quantum computation.

arXiv:1511.01109•Physical Review A•Jan 4, 2017•26 citations

Dynamical coupling between a Bose–Einstein condensate and a cavity optical lattice

Stephan Ritter, Ferdinand Brennecke, Kristian Baumann +3 more

A Bose–Einstein condensate is dispersively coupled to a single mode of an ultra-high finesse optical cavity. The system is governed by strong interactions between the atomic motion and the light field even at the level of single quanta. While coherently pumping the cavity mode the condensate is subject to the cavity optical lattice potential whose depth depends nonlinearly on the atomic density distribution. We observe optical bistability already below the single photon level and strong back-action dynamics which tunes the coupled system periodically out of resonance.

arXiv:0811.3967•Applied Physics B•Feb 27, 2009•96 citations

Multimode strong-coupling quantum optomechanics

Hyojun Seok, Lukas F. Buchmann, Ewan M. Wright +1 more

We study theoretically the dynamics of multiple mechanical oscillators coupled to a single cavity field mode via linear or quadratic optomechanical interactions. We focus specifically on the strong-coupling regime where the cavity decays much faster than the mechanical modes, and the optomechanical coupling is comparable to or larger than the mechanical frequency, so that both the optical and mechanical systems operate in the deep quantum regime. Using the examples of one and two mechanical oscillators, we show that the system can classically exhibit bistability and bifurcations, and we explore how these manifest themselves in interference, entanglement, and correlation in the quantum theory, while revealing the impact of decoherence of the mechanical system due to cavity fluctuations and coherent driving.

arXiv:1309.7134•Physical Review A•Dec 30, 2013•51 citations

Quantum measurement with cavity optomechanical systems

Chen Xue, Liu Xiao-Wei, Keye Zhang +2 more

Cavity optomechanics originated from the research of interferometric detection of gravitational waves, and later became a fast-growing area of techniques and approaches ranging from the fields of atomic, molecular, and optical physics to nano-science and condensed matter physics as well. Recently, it focused on the exploration of operating mechanical oscillators deep in the quantum regime, with an interest ranging from quantum-classical interface tests to high-precision quantum metrology. In this paper, recent theoretical work of our group in the field of quantum measurement with cavity optomechanical systems is reviewed. We explore the quantum measurement theory and its applications with several unconventional cavity optomechanical schemes working in the quantum regime. This review covers the basics of quantum noises in the cavity optomechanical setups and the resulting standard quantum limit of precision displacement and force measurement. Three novel quantum measurement proposals based on the hybrid optomechanical system are introduced. First, we describe a quantum back-action insulated weak force sensor. It is realized by forming a quantum-mechanics-free subsystem with two optomechanical oscillators of reversed effective mass. Then we introduce a role-reversed atomic optomechanical system which enables the preparation and the quantum tomography of a variety of non-classical states of atoms. In this system, the cavity field acts as a mechanical oscillator driven by the radiation pressure force from an ultracold atomic field. In the end, we recommend a multimode optomechanical transducer that can detect intensities significantly below the single-photon level via adiabatic transfer of the microwave signal to the optical frequency domain. These proposals demonstrate the possible applications of optomechanical devices in understanding of quantum-classical crossover and in achieving quantum measurement limit.

Acta Physica Sinica•Jan 1, 2015•15 citations
Cavity optomechanics studies the coupling between a mechanical oscillator and the electromagnetic field in a cavity. We report on a cavity optomechanical system in which a collective density excitation of a Bose-Einstein condensate serves as the mechanical oscillator coupled to the cavity field. A few photons inside the ultrahigh-finesse cavity trigger strongly driven back-action dynamics, in quantitative agreement with a cavity optomechanical model. We approach the strong coupling regime of cavity optomechanics, where a single excitation of the mechanical oscillator substantially influences the cavity field. The results open up new directions for investigating mechanical oscillators in the quantum regime and the border between classical and quantum physics.
The dispersive interaction of a Bose-Einstein condensate with a single mode of a high-finesse optical cavity realizes the radiation pressure coupling Hamiltonian. In this system the role of the mechanical oscillator is played by a single condensate excitation mode that is selected by the cavity mode function. We study the effect of atomic s-wave collisions and show that it merely renormalizes parameters of the usual optomechanical interaction. Moreover, we show that even in the case of strong harmonic confinement – which invalidates the use of Bloch states – a single excitation mode of the Bose-Einstein condensate couples significantly to the light field, that is the simplified picture of a single "mechanical" oscillator mode remains valid.
We study the optomechanical interaction of a Bose–Einstein condensate with a single longitudinal mode of an ultra-high finesse standing wave optical resonator. As a unique feature the resonator combines three extreme regimes, previously not realized together, i.e., strong cooperative coupling, cavity dominated scattering with a Purcell factor far above unity, and sub-recoil resolution provided by a cavity damping rate smaller than four times the single photon recoil frequency. We present experimental observations in good agreement with a two-mode model predicting highly nonlinear dynamics with signatures as bistability, hysteresis, persistent oscillations, and superradiant back-scattering instabilities.
We report a spin-orbit-coupling-induced backaction cooling in an optomechanical system, composed of a spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in an optical cavity with one movable end mirror, by suppressing heating effects of quantum noises. The collective density excitations of the spin-orbit-coupling-mediated hyperfine states---serving as atomic oscillators equally coupled to the cavity field---trigger strongly driven atomic backaction. We find that the backaction not only revamps low-temperature dynamics of its own but also provides an opportunity to cool the mechanical mirror to its quantum-mechanical ground state. Further, we demonstrate that the strength of spin-orbit coupling also superintends dynamic structure factor and squeezes nonlinear quantum noises, like thermomechanical and photon shot noise, which enhances optomechanical features of the hybrid cavity beyond previous investigations. Our findings are testable in a realistic setup and enhance the functionality of cavity optomechanics with spin-orbit-coupled hyperfine states in the field of quantum optics and quantum computation.
A Bose–Einstein condensate is dispersively coupled to a single mode of an ultra-high finesse optical cavity. The system is governed by strong interactions between the atomic motion and the light field even at the level of single quanta. While coherently pumping the cavity mode the condensate is subject to the cavity optical lattice potential whose depth depends nonlinearly on the atomic density distribution. We observe optical bistability already below the single photon level and strong back-action dynamics which tunes the coupled system periodically out of resonance.
We study theoretically the dynamics of multiple mechanical oscillators coupled to a single cavity field mode via linear or quadratic optomechanical interactions. We focus specifically on the strong-coupling regime where the cavity decays much faster than the mechanical modes, and the optomechanical coupling is comparable to or larger than the mechanical frequency, so that both the optical and mechanical systems operate in the deep quantum regime. Using the examples of one and two mechanical oscillators, we show that the system can classically exhibit bistability and bifurcations, and we explore how these manifest themselves in interference, entanglement, and correlation in the quantum theory, while revealing the impact of decoherence of the mechanical system due to cavity fluctuations and coherent driving.
Cavity optomechanics originated from the research of interferometric detection of gravitational waves, and later became a fast-growing area of techniques and approaches ranging from the fields of atomic, molecular, and optical physics to nano-science and condensed matter physics as well. Recently, it focused on the exploration of operating mechanical oscillators deep in the quantum regime, with an interest ranging from quantum-classical interface tests to high-precision quantum metrology. In this paper, recent theoretical work of our group in the field of quantum measurement with cavity optomechanical systems is reviewed. We explore the quantum measurement theory and its applications with several unconventional cavity optomechanical schemes working in the quantum regime. This review covers the basics of quantum noises in the cavity optomechanical setups and the resulting standard quantum limit of precision displacement and force measurement. Three novel quantum measurement proposals based on the hybrid optomechanical system are introduced. First, we describe a quantum back-action insulated weak force sensor. It is realized by forming a quantum-mechanics-free subsystem with two optomechanical oscillators of reversed effective mass. Then we introduce a role-reversed atomic optomechanical system which enables the preparation and the quantum tomography of a variety of non-classical states of atoms. In this system, the cavity field acts as a mechanical oscillator driven by the radiation pressure force from an ultracold atomic field. In the end, we recommend a multimode optomechanical transducer that can detect intensities significantly below the single-photon level via adiabatic transfer of the microwave signal to the optical frequency domain. These proposals demonstrate the possible applications of optomechanical devices in understanding of quantum-classical crossover and in achieving quantum measurement limit.