Quantum state purity versus average phonon number for characterization of mechanical oscillators in cavity optomechanics

Quantum oscillators in Gaussian states are often characterized by average occupation numbers that refer to a basis of eigenstates of the non-interacting oscillator Hamiltonian. We argue that quantum state purity is a more appropriate characteristic of such states, which can be applied to oscillators of any dimensionality. For a one-dimensional oscillator, the state purity is directly related to a thermal occupation number defined with respect to the number state basis in which the oscillator's quantum state is thermal. Thus, it naturally introduces a more versatile definition of an average occupation number. We study optomechanical sideband cooling of one- and two-dimensional mechanical oscillators in particular, and derive exact analytical expressions for the maximal mechanical state purity achievable in the quantum backaction limit. In the case of a one-dimensional oscillator, we show that the thermal occupation number related to purity can be well approximated by the average phonon number in the weak-coupling regime, but that the two differ in the regime of ultrastrong optomechanical coupling or in cases where the oscillator's resonance frequency is strongly renormalized.