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Optics InfoBase Conference Papers

Precision inference of a mechanical element using a Mach-Zender interferometer with an optomechanical cavity

Rafael Garcés, Gerard J Milburn

Published Jan 1, 2015• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We have studied an interferometric process in an interferometer containing an optomechanical device in one of its arms. This kind of devices have potencial applications in studies of different decoherence mechanisms in quantum mechanics of mesoscopic systems, as for example the case of gravitational decoherence [1-3].

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We study the quantum dynamics of a Michelson interferometer with Fabry-Perot cavity arms and one movable end mirror, and driven by a single photon---an optomechanical device previously studied by Marshall et al. as a device that searches for gravity decoherence. We obtain an exact analytical solution for the system's quantum mechanical equations of motion, including details about the exchange of the single photon between the cavity mode and the external continuum. The resulting time evolution of the interferometer's fringe visibility displays interesting new features when the incoming photon's frequency uncertainty is narrower or comparable to the cavity's line width---only in the limiting case of much broader-band photon does the result return to that of Marshall et al., but in this case the photon is not very likely to enter the cavity and interact with the mirror, making the experiment less efficient and more susceptible to imperfections. In addition, we show that in the strong-coupling regime, by engineering the incoming photon's wave function, it is possible to prepare the movable mirror into an arbitrary quantum state of a multidimensional Hilbert space.
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.
The sensitivity in interferometric measurements such as gravitational-wave detectors is ultimately limited by quantum noise of light. We discuss the use of feedback mechanisms to reduce the quantum effects of radiation pressure. Recent experiments have shown that it is possible to reduce the thermal motion of a mirror by cold damping. The mirror motion is measured with an optomechanical sensor based on a high-finesse cavity, and reduced by a feedback loop. We show that this technique can be extended to lock the mirror at the quantum level. In gravitational-waves interferometers with Fabry-Perot cavities in each arms, it is even possible to use a single feedback mechanism to lock one cavity mirror on the other. This quantum locking greatly improves the sensitivity of the interferometric measurement. It is furthermore insensitive to imperfections such as losses in the interferometer.
Cavity optomechanics has become an established and equally promising branch in quantum optics. Thanks to the interaction between matter and electromagnetic radiation, it has proved to be an optimal platform for a range of scopes, from weak force sensing to the study of non-classicality of mechanical motion. Besides, the capability to isolate genuine quantum features of the interaction represents a test ground to address many important questions regarding decoherence, quantum-to-classical transitions and the interface between quantum mechanics and gravity. The first part of the research embedded in this thesis is addressed towards the clear identification and characterisation of quantum features in optomechanics. The main model we will refer to is a deformable Fabry-P\'erot cavity where one of the two mirrors moves under the radiation pressure of light. After having properly assessed the quantum peculiarities of the system, and also having revised some intakes from past literature, we will focus on the study of mechanical non-linearities, as they have been proved to be a key resource to bring out and enhance quantum properties. These investigations provide the basis to eventually propose a method to deterministically prepare and measure macroscopic quantum superposition states of the movable mirror. Such massive quantum states play a key role to inspect the foundations of physics, e.g. to test the collapse of the wave function and phenomenological models of quantum gravity, as well as to develop new enhanced quantum technologies.
Interferometers operating at or close to quantum limits of precision have found wide application in tabletop searches for physics beyond the standard model, the study of fundamental forces and symmetries of nature and foundational tests of quantum mechanics. The limits imposed by quantum fluctuations and measurement backaction on conventional interferometers (δϕ∼1/Nδϕ\sim 1/\sqrt{N}δϕ∼1/N​) have spurred the development of schemes to circumvent these limits through quantum interference, multiparticle interactions and entanglement. A prominent example of such schemes, the so-called SU(1,1)SU(1,1)SU(1,1) interferometer, has been shown to be particularly robust against particle loss and inefficient detection, and has been demonstrated with photons and ultracold atoms. Here, we realize a SU(1,1)SU(1,1)SU(1,1) interferometer in a fundamentally new platform in which the interfering arms are distinct flexural modes of a millimeter-scale mechanical resonator. We realize up to 15.4(3) dB of noise squeezing and demonstrate the Heisenberg scaling of interferometric sensitivity (δϕ∼1/Nδϕ\sim 1/Nδϕ∼1/N), corresponding to a 6-fold improvement in measurement precision over a conventional interferometer. Our work extends the optomechanical toolbox for the quantum manipulation of macroscopic mechanical motion and presents new avenues for studies of optomechanical sensing and the nonequilibrium dynamics of multimode optomechanical systems.