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arXiv:2510.05384

Levitated optomechanics with cylindrically polarized vortex beams

Felipe Almeida, Peter Barker

quant-phphysics.opticsSubmitted Oct 6, 2025• Announced Oct 8, 2025• 0 citations
v1 · Oct 6, 2025v2 · Oct 30, 2026
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Abstract

Optically levitated and cooled nanoparticles are a new quantum system whose application to the creation of non-classical states of motion and quantum limited sensing is fundamentally limited by recoil and bulk heating. We study the creation of stable 3D optical traps using optical cylindrically polarized vortex beams with radial and azimuthal polarization and show that a significant reduction in recoil heating by up to an order of magnitude can be achieved when compared with conventional single Gaussian beam tweezers. Additionally these beams allow trapping of larger particles outside the Rayleigh regime using both bright and dark tweezer trapping with reduced recoil heating. By changing the wavelength of the trapping laser, or the size of the particles, non-linear and repulsive potentials of interest for the creation of non-classical states of motion can also be created.

Comments
11 pages, 11 figues

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Optically levitated and cooled nanoparticles are a new quantum system whose application to the creation of non-classical states of motion and quantum limited sensing is fundamentally limited by recoil and bulk heating. We study the creation of stable 3D optical traps using optical cylindrically polarized vortex beams with radial and azimuthal polarization and show that a significant reduction in recoil heating by up to an order of magnitude can be achieved when compared with conventional single Gaussian beam tweezers. Additionally these beams allow trapping of larger particles outside the Rayleigh regime using both bright and dark tweezer trapping with reduced recoil heating. By changing the wavelength of the trapping laser, or the size of the particles, non-linear and repulsive potentials of interest for the creation of non-classical states of motion can also be created.
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We demonstrate the transfer of orbital angular momentum (OAM) to optically levitated microparticles in vacuum. We create two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) optical potentials possessing OAM. In the former case the microparticle is placed within a Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beam and orbits the annular beam profile with increasing angular velocity as the air drag coefficient is reduced. Our results reveal that there is a fundamental limit to the OAM that may be transferred to a trapped particle, dependent upon the beam parameters and inertial forces present. Whilst a LG beam scales in size with azimuthal index, recently we have created a “perfect vortex” beam whose radial intensity profile and radius are both independent of topological charge. As the Fourier transform of a “perfect vortex” yields a Bessel beam, imaging a “perfect vortex”, with its subsequent propagation thus realises a complex three-dimensional optical field. In this scenario we load individual silica microparticles into this field where the optical gradient and scattering forces interplay with the inertial and gravitational forces acting on the trapped particle. As a result the trapped microparticle exhibits a complex three-dimensional motion that includes a periodic orbital motion between the Bessel and the “perfect vortex” beam. We are able to determine the three dimensional optical potential in situ by tracking the particle. This first demonstration of trapping microparticles within a complex 3D optical potential in vacuum opens up new possibilities for fundamental studies of many-body dynamics, mesoscopic entanglement, and optical binding.
We demonstrate the transfer of orbital angular momentum to optically levitated microparticles in vacuum [1]. We prepare two-dimensional and three-dimensional optical potentials. In the former case the microparticle is placed within a Laguerre-Gaussian beam and orbits the annular beam profile with increasing angular velocity as the air drag coefficient is reduced. We explore the particle dynamics as a function of the topological charge of the levitating beam. Our results reveal that there is a fundamental limit to the orbital angular momentum that may be transferred to a trapped particle, dependent upon the beam parameters and inertial forces present. This effect was predicted theoretically [2] and can be understood considering the underlying dynamics arising from the link between the magnitude of the azimuthal index and the beam radius [3]. Whilst a Laguerre-Gaussian beam scales in size with azimuthal index `, recently we have created a “perfect” vortex beam whose radial intensity profile and radius are both independent of topological charge [4, 5]. As the Fourier transform of a perfect vortex yields a Bessel beam. Imaging a perfect vortex, with its subsequent propagation thus realises a complex three dimensional optical field. In this scenario we load individual silica microparticles into this field and observe their trajectories. The optical gradient and scattering forces interplay with the inertial and gravitational forces acting on the trapped particle, including the rotational degrees of freedom. As a result the trapped microparticle exhibits a complex three dimensional motion that includes a periodic orbital motion between the Bessel and the perfect vortex beam. We are able to determine the three dimensional optical potential in situ by tracking the particle. This first demonstration of trapping microparticles within a complex three dimensional optical potential in vacuum opens up new possibilities for fundamental studies of many-body dynamics, mesoscopic entanglement [6, 7], and optical binding [8, 9].
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We study theoretically the creation of an optical centrifuge for the controlled rotation of levitated nanorotors within an optical tweezer. The optical centrifuge's motion is simulated by rapidly rotating the linear polarization of the tightly focused optical field used to form an optical trap. We show that nanorotors, formed by anisotropic nanoparticles levitated within a trap, can be accelerated to well-defined rotational rates in excess of 100 MHz over durations of hundreds of microseconds. The initial conditions required for stable acceleration, based on optical trap properties and the anisotropic susceptibility of the nanorotor are established and confirmed by numerical simulations. We also present initial experiments that have developed tools for the rapid angular acceleration of the polarization vector of the linearly polarized beam that is required to create the centrifuge. We show that over acceleration durations in the 100 μ s range, high rotational speeds could be achieved in modest vacuum.
Abstract Optically levitated nanoparticles emerged as an interesting platform for probing fundamental physics. Quantum control of their motion (including potential shaping) predisposes them for emulating various physical systems and studying quantum phenomena with massive objects. Extending these capabilities to quantum many-body systems requires feasible strategies to couple and entangle nanoparticles directly or via an optical bus. We propose a variable, deterministic scheme to generate Gaussian entanglement in the motional steady state of levitated nanoparticles using coherent scattering. Coupling multiple nanoparticles to a common cavity mode allows cooling of a collective Bogoliubov mode; cooling multiple Bogoliubov modes (by trapping each nanoparticle in multiple tweezers, each scattering into a separate cavity mode) removes most thermal noise, leading to strong entanglement. Numerical simulations for three nanoparticles show great tuneability of entanglement with realistic experimental parameters. Our proposal paves the way towards complex motional quantum states for advanced quantum sensing protocols and many-body quantum simulations.