Related papers: Testing collapse models with levitated nanoparticl…
Interferometric methods for detecting the motion of a levitated nanoparticle provide a route to the quantum ground state, but such methods are currently limited by mode mismatch between the reference beam and the dipolar field scattered by…
Mechanical oscillators based on levitated particles are promising candidates for sensitive detectors and platforms for testing fundamental physics. The targeted quality factors for such oscillators correspond to extremely low damping rates…
We perform free-fall experiments with a charge-neutral, optically levitated nanoparticle. This is achieved using an optical tweezer that can be rapidly toggled on and off and vertically displaced, enabling the particle to be released and…
The levitation of condensed matter in vacuum allows the study of its physical properties under extreme isolation from the environment. It also offers a venue to investigate quantum mechanics with large systems, at the transition between the…
Levitation optomechanics exploits the unique mechanical properties of trapped nano-objects in vacuum in order to address some of the limitations of clamped nanomechanical resonators. In particular, its performance is foreseen to contribute…
In the last decade, a growing interest has been devoted to models of spontaneous collapse of the wavefunction, known also as collapse models. They coherently solve the well-known quantum measurement problem by suitably modifying the…
Imaging-based detection of the motion of the levitated nanoparticles complements a widely-used interferometric detection method, providing a precise and robust way to estimate the position of the particle. Here, we show the camera-based…
Charged (nano)particles confined in electrodynamic traps can evolve into strongly correlated Coulomb systems which are the subject of current investigation. Exciting physical phenomena associated to Coulomb systems are reported such as…
Cooling the center-of-mass motion of levitated nanoparticles provides a route to quantum experiments at mesoscopic scales. Here we demonstrate three-dimensional sympathetic cooling and detection of the center-of-mass motion of a levitated…
Visualization and manipulation of nanoscale matter is one of the main and current challenges in nanosciences. To this aim, different techniques have been recently developed to non-invasively trap and manipulate nano-specimens, like…
We describe the measurement of the secular motion of a levitated nanoparticle in a Paul trap with a CMOS camera. This simple method enables us to reach signal-to-noise ratios as good as 10$^{6}$ with a displacement sensitivity better than…
Optically levitated nanoparticles in vacuum are a promising model system to test physics beyond our current understanding of quantum mechanics. Such experimental tests require extreme control over the dephasing of the levitated particle's…
Quantum measurements of mechanical systems can produce optical squeezing via ponderomotive forces. Its observation requires high environmental isolation and efficient detection, typically achieved by using optical cavities and cryogenic…
Optically levitated dielectric nanoparticles have become valuable tools for precision sensing and quantum optomechanical experiments. To predict the dynamic properties of a particle trapped in an optical tweezer with high fidelity, a tool…
We confine a microparticle in a hybrid potential created by a Paul trap and a dual-beam optical trap. We transfer the particle between the Paul trap and the optical trap at different pressures and study the influence of feedback cooling on…
Optical tweezers, the three-dimensional confinement of a nanoparticle by a strongly focused beam of light, have been widely employed in investigating biomaterial nanomechanics, nanoscopic fluid properties, and ultrasensitive detections in…
When introducing a nanoparticle into an optical trap, its mass and shape are not immediately apparent. We combine a charge-based mass measurement with a shape determination method based on light scattering and an analysis of the damping…
Forces on a nanoparticle in an optical trap are analysed. Brownian motion is found to be one of the major challenges to trap a nanoparticle. Accordingly, suitable spatial electric field distribution of laser beam is suggested to enhance the…
Levitated dielectric particles in a vacuum have emerged as a new platform in quantum science, with applications ranging from precision acceleration and force sensing to testing quantum physics beyond the microscopic domain. Traditionally,…
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…