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arXiv:2604.07971

Simultaneous ground-state cooling of six mechanical modes of two levitated nanoparticles

Qian Zhang, Yi Xu, Jie-Qiao Liao

quant-phSubmitted Apr 9, 2026• Announced Apr 10, 2026
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Abstract

Ground-state cooling is a prerequisite for exploring macroscopic quantum effects in mechanical motion of massive objects. Here we construct a polarization-angle-controllable coupled cavity-levitated-nanoparticle system in which two nanoparticles trapped by individual tweezers are coupled to a single-mode field in a cavity. We also study the simultaneous ground-state cooling of six mechanical displacement modes of the two levitated nanoparticles through the coherent scattering mechanism. By deriving the Hamiltonian of the system and performing the linearization, we obtain a linearized seven-mode Hamiltonian, which can exhibit the coupling structure and cooling mechanism. We confirm the physical condition for the appearance of dark modes, which will suppress the simultaneous ground-state cooling of these mechanical modes. We also find that, by properly tuning the polarization angle $θ$ between the cavity field and the optical tweezer fields, the coupling channels can be controlled on demand and simultaneous ground-state cooling of these six motional modes of the two nanoparticles can be realized. Our work paves the way for generation and manipulation of collective macroscopic quantum effects in multiple levitated nanoparticles.

Comments
15 pages, 5 figures

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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.
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Abstract Tests of quantum mechanics on a macroscopic scale require extreme control over mechanical motion and its decoherence [1-4]. Quantum control of mechanical motion has been achieved by engineering the radiation pressure coupling between a micromechanical oscillator and the electromagnetic field in a resonator [5-8]. Furthermore, measurement-based feedback control relying on cavity-enhanced detection schemes has been used to cool micromechanical oscillators to their quantum ground states [9]. In contrast to mechanically tethered systems, optically levitated nanoparticles are particularly promising candidates for matter-wave experiments with massive objects [10,11], since their trapping potential is fully controllable. In this work, we optically levitate a femto-gram dielectric particle in cryogenic free space, which suppresses thermal effects sufficiently to make the measurement backaction the dominant decoherence mechanism. With an efficient quantum measurement, we exert quantum control over the dynamics of the particle. We cool its center-of-mass motion by measurement-based feedback to an average occupancy of 0.65 motional quanta, corresponding to a state purity of 43%. The absence of an optical resonator and its bandwidth limitations holds promise to transfer the full quantum control available for electromagnetic fields to a mechanical system. Together with the fact that the optical trapping potential is highly controllable, our experimental platform offers a route to investigating quantum mechanics at macroscopic scales [12,13].
Realizing a large-scale fully controllable quantum system is a challenging task in current physical research and has broad applications. Ultracold atom and molecule arrays in optical tweezers in vacuum have been used for quantum simulation, quantum metrology and quantum computing. Recently, quantum ground state cooling of the center-of-mass motion of a single optically levitated nanoparticle in vacuum was demonstrated, providing unprecedented opportunities for studying macroscopic quantum mechanics and precision measurements. In this work, we create a reconfigurable optically-levitated nanoparticle array in vacuum. Our optically-levitated nanoparticle array allows full control of individual nanoparticles to form an arbitrary pattern and detect their motion. As a concrete example, we choose two nanoparticles without rotation signals from an array to synthesize a nanodumbbell in-situ by merging them into one trap. The nanodumbbell synthesized in-situ can rotate beyond 1 GHz. Our work provides a new platform for studying macroscopic many-body physics.
We theoretically investigate a quadratic optomechanical system comprising a single-mode optical cavity linearly coupled to one mechanical resonator and quadratically coupled to a second resonator. By tuning the cavity detuning and optomechanical coupling strengths, we demonstrate the transition from optical bistability to multistability with up to seven steady-state solutions. Notably, simultaneous ground-state cooling of both mechanical resonators occurs on the dynamically stable branch of the nonlinear steady-state solutions, offering new opportunities for combined nonlinear optical and quantum cooling functionalities. Beyond the multistable regime, we systematically study dual-mode ground-state cooling and find that robust simultaneous cooling can be achieved over a broad parameter range, except when the linear and quadratic couplings become comparable, where a dark-mode effect arises. In this case, tuning the second-order optomechanical-induced frequency shifts effectively suppresses dark-mode interference, enabling controllable and simultaneous ground-state cooling. Our results provide a versatile framework for engineering multimode quantum states in optomechanical systems and open new avenues for the development of multifunctional quantum devices, including ultra-sensitive sensors, scalable quantum memories, and integrated quantum networks.
Abstract Tests of quantum mechanics on a macroscopic scale require extreme control over mechanical motion and its decoherence1–3. Quantum control of mechanical motion has been achieved by engineering the radiation–pressure coupling between a micromechanical oscillator and the electromagnetic field in a resonator4–7. Furthermore, measurement-based feedback control relying on cavity-enhanced detection schemes has been used to cool micromechanical oscillators to their quantum ground states8. In contrast to mechanically tethered systems, optically levitated nanoparticles are particularly promising candidates for matter-wave experiments with massive objects9, 10, since their trapping potential is fully controllable. Here we optically levitate a femtogram (10−15 grams) dielectric particle in cryogenic free space, which suppresses thermal effects sufficiently to make the measurement backaction the dominant decoherence mechanism. With an efficient quantum measurement, we exert quantum control over the dynamics of the particle. We cool its centre-of-mass motion by measurement-based feedback to an average occupancy of 0.65 motional quanta, corresponding to a state purity of 0.43. The absence of an optical resonator and its bandwidth limitations holds promise to transfer the full quantum control available for electromagnetic fields to a mechanical system. Together with the fact that the optical trapping potential is highly controllable, our experimental platform offers a route to investigating quantum mechanics at macroscopic scales11.