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arXiv:1812.06042 · Quantum Science and Technology

Optimal control of hybrid optomechanical systems for generating non-classical states of mechanical motion

Ville Bergholm, Witlef Wieczorek, Thomas Schulte-Herbrüggen, Michael Keyl

Published Apr 5, 2019• 32 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Cavity optomechanical systems are one of the leading experimental platforms for controlling mechanical motion in the quantum regime. We exemplify that the control over cavity optomechanical systems greatly increases by coupling the cavity also to a two-level system, thereby creating a hybrid optomechanical system. If the two-level system can be driven largely independently of the cavity, we show that the nonlinearity thus introduced enables us to steer the extended system to non-classical target states of the mechanical oscillator with Wigner functions exhibiting significant negative regions. We illustrate how to use optimal control techniques beyond the linear regime to drive the hybrid system from the near ground state into a Fock target state of the mechanical oscillator. We base our numerical optimization on realistic experimental parameters for exemplifying how optimal control enables the preparation of decidedly non-classical target states, where naive control schemes fail. Our results thus pave the way for applying the toolbox of optimal control in hybrid optomechanical systems for generating non-classical mechanical states.

DOI
10.1088/2058-9565/ab1682

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Abstract Cavity optomechanical systems are one of the leading experimental platforms for controlling mechanical motion in the quantum regime. We exemplify that the control over cavity optomechanical systems greatly increases by coupling the cavity also to a two-level system, thereby creating a hybrid optomechanical system. If the two-level system can be driven largely independently of the cavity, we show that the nonlinearity thus introduced enables us to steer the extended system to non-classical target states of the mechanical oscillator with Wigner functions exhibiting significant negative regions. We illustrate how to use optimal control techniques beyond the linear regime to drive the hybrid system from the near ground state into a Fock target state of the mechanical oscillator. We base our numerical optimization on realistic experimental parameters for exemplifying how optimal control enables the preparation of decidedly non-classical target states, where naive control schemes fail. Our results thus pave the way for applying the toolbox of optimal control in hybrid optomechanical systems for generating non-classical mechanical states.
Abstract In this study, we propose an experimental scheme to generate macroscopic quantum cat states of a mechanical oscillator within a hybrid atom-optomechanical system. The system consists of a mechanical oscillator harmonically coupled to an optical cavity, where the atom-cavity interaction operates in the ultrastrong-coupling regime described by the Rabi–Stark model. The cavity photon and atom state measurements project the mechanical mirror into cat states, with the process enhanced by Fock-state initialization, nonlinear atom-field coupling and modulated mechanical tuning. Wigner-function analysis confirms nonclassicality. The key findings are: (1) higher initial photon number n increases coherent-state amplitudes and separations of the cat states; (2) smaller detuning improves distinguishability; (3) both the nonlinear atom-photon coupling term and stronger optomechanical coupling accelerate the generation of cat states. This approach provides a parameter-tunable framework for quantum coherence control.
Abstract We review the physics of hybrid optomechanical systems consisting of a mechanical oscillator interacting with both a radiation mode and an additional matterlike system. We concentrate on the cases embodied by either a single or a multi-atom system (a Bose-Einstein condensate, in particular) and discuss a wide range of physical effects, from passive mechanical cooling to the set-up of multipartite entanglement, from optomechanical nonlocality to the achievement of non-classical states of a single mechanical mode. The reviewed material showcases the viability of hybridised cavity optomechanical systems as basic building blocks for quantum communication networks and quantum state-engineering devices, possibly empowered by the use of quantum and optimal control techniques. The results that we discuss are instrumental to the promotion of hybrid optomechanical devices as promising experimental platforms for the study of nonclassicality at the genuine mesoscopic level.
Hybrid quantum systems harness the distinct advantages of different physical platforms, yet their integration is not always trivial due to potential incompatibilities in operational principles. Here, we theoretically propose and demonstrate a scheme for generating non-Gaussian mechanical states using a strongly driven hybrid system that combines cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) and cavity optomechanics. Our protocol prepares a non-Gaussian cavity state in the dispersive regime of cavity QED and subsequently transfers it to a mechanical oscillator using the optomechanical interaction enhanced by a coherent cavity drive. While non-Gaussian cavity state control in cavity QED is well established in the dispersive regime, its behavior under strong cavity drive, essential for cavity optomechanics, remains largely unexplored. To bridge this gap, we develop an efficient simulation framework to model cavity QED dynamics in the high-photon-number regime. We show that a strong cavity drive can coherently displace the cavity state with minimal perturbations, effectively decoupling it from the qubit. The resulting large coherent cavity field enhances the optomechanical coupling strength, enabling high-fidelity transfer of non-Gaussian cavity states to the mechanical mode. These results reveal new dynamical features of driven cavity QED and open a pathway toward realizing non-Gaussian mechanical quantum memories and sensors.
Quantum optomechanical systems enable versatile control of non-classical light. We study two-mode squeezed-light generation in a driven optomechanical cavity with parametrically amplified optical modes coupled to mechanical resonator. Coherent driving reveals a rich control landscape where parametric nonlinearity, optomechanical coupling, and reservoir interactions jointly tailor quantum correlations-including two-mode squeezing, entanglement, steering, and discord. Remarkably, mechanical oscillators not only mediate optical entanglement but also act as a squeezing resource, enabling enhancement or suppression of quantum correlations via parameter tuning. We derive steady-state second-order moments and closed-form covariance matrix expressions, quantifying entanglement via logarithmic negativity, steering via Reid criterion, and discord via von Neumann entropy, providing a comprehensive framework for optimized generation of quantum correlations in hybrid quantum systems.
Abstract Nonclassical correlations provide a resource for many applications in quantum technology as well as providing strong evidence that a system is indeed operating in the quantum regime. Optomechanical systems can be arranged to generate nonclassical correlations (such as quantum entanglement) between the mechanical mode and a mode of travelling light. Here we propose automated optimization of the production of quantum correlations in such a system, beyond what can be achieved through analytical methods, by applying Bayesian optimization to the control parameters. A two-mode optomechanical squeezing experiment is simulated using a detailed theoretical model of the system and the measurable outputs fed to the Bayesian optimization process. This then modifies the controllable parameters in order to maximize the non-classical two-mode squeezing and its detection, independently of the inner workings of the model. We focus on a levitated nano-sphere system, but the techniques described are broadly applicable in optomechanical experiments, and also more widely, especially where no detailed theoretical treatment is available. We find that in the experimentally relevant thermal regimes, the ability to vary and optimize a broad array of control parameters provides access to large values of two-mode squeezing that would otherwise be difficult or intractable to discover via analytical or trial and error methods. In particular we observe that modulation of the driving frequency around the resonant sideband allows for stronger nonclassical correlations. We also observe that our optimization approach finds parameters that allow significant squeezing in the high temperature regime. This extends the range of experimental setups in which non-classical correlations could be generated beyond the region of high quantum cooperativity.
This thesis concentrates on generating and measuring non-classical states of mechanical oscillators by coupling them to atomic and molecular quantum systems. We start with a discussion of what novel physics can be explored by mechanical systems operating in the quantum regime. We then discuss one technique making it a possibility- cavity optomechanics, particularly optomechanical cooling. We investigate the limits of optomechanical cooling and review how the coupling of mechanical oscillators to external heat baths limits the minimum attainable phonon occupation number. As a possible alternative for circumventing clamping losses, we consider an all-optical approach where the mechanical element (in this case, a Bragg mirror) is suspended via optical forces, and discuss some limitations of this approach. We explore several schemes aimed at the generation of quantum states in mechanical oscillators. We consider specifically two examples: one in which the mechanical oscillator is coupled to polar molecules via dipole-dipole interaction, and another where it is magnetically coupled to a Bose condensate. The first example emphasizes that such an interaction can generate parametric squeezing and entanglement. The second scheme demonstrates that the back action of BEC spin measurements can be used to generate quantum states of motion of a mechanical oscillator. We then discuss possible methods for measuring the entire density matrix of a mechanical oscillator. The first method achieves the tomographic reconstruction of the mechanical Wigner function by coupling it simultaneously to a classical optical oscillator and a qubit. The second approach involves a state transfer scheme between momentum excitations of a bose-condensate in a cavity and a moving mirror of the cavity that is entirely mediated by the light field. We conclude with a discussion of the broader implications of this work, and some future research directions.