Related papers: Optically levitated rotor at its thermal limit of …
It has been suggested that space-time might undergo fluctuations because of its intrinsic quantum nature. These fluctuations would pose a fundamental limit to the ability of measuring distances with arbitrary precision, beyond any…
The work fluctuations of an oscillator in contact with a thermostat and driven out of equilibrium by an external force are studied experimentally and theoretically within the context of Fluctuation Theorems (FTs). The oscillator dynamics is…
We discuss the positional fluctuations of a quantum harmonic oscillator in a heat bath. Analytic expressions are given for the probability distribution functions of the oscillator position in general and limiting (classical and ground…
In a cold atom gas subject to a 2D spin-dependent optical lattice potential with hexagonal symmetry, trapped atoms undergo orbital motion around the potential minima. Such atoms are elementary quantum rotors. We develop the theory of such…
A magnetometric technique is demonstrated that may be suitable for precision measurements of fields ranging from the sub-microgauss level to above the Earth field. It is based on resonant nonlinear magneto-optical rotation caused by atoms…
Torque sensors such as the torsion balance enabled the first determination of the gravitational constant by Cavendish and the discovery of Coulomb's law. Torque sensors are also widely used in studying small-scale magnetism, the Casimir…
The thermal stability of a weakly magnetized, rotating, stratified, optically thin plasma is studied by means of linear-perturbation analysis. We derive dispersion relations and criteria for stability against axisymmetric perturbations that…
According to quantum theory, measurement and backaction are inextricably linked. In optical position measurements, this backaction is known as radiation pressure shot noise. In analogy, a measurement of the orientation of a mechanical rotor…
Nano- and micromechanical oscillators with high quality (Q) factors have gained much attention for their potential application as ultrasensitive detectors. In contrast to micro-fabricated devices, optically trapped nanoparticles in vacuum…
The correlation of phase fluctuations in any type of oscillator fundamentally defines its spectral shape. However, in nonlinear oscillators, such as spin torque nano oscillators, the frequency spectrum can become particularly complex. This…
Thermal motion gives rise to fluctuations in free surfaces; the propagation of the thermally excited waves on such surfaces depends on the mechanical properties of the medium. Their measurement can therefore provide information on those…
The effect of gravity and proper acceleration on the frequency spectrum of an optical resonator - both rigid or deformable - is considered in the framework of general relativity. The optical resonator is modeled either as a rod of matter…
Levitated ferromagnetic systems are expected to have significant potential in precision magnetic field sensing by leveraging mechanical isolation to minimize mechanical contact and associated noise. Here, we report the implementation of a…
Temperature-based radiation detectors are an essential tool for long optical wavelengths detection even if they often suffer from important bandwidth limitations. Their responsivity, and hence their noise equivalent power (NEP), typically…
We describe the use of optically levitated microspheres as test masses in experiments aimed at reaching and potentially exceeding the standard quantum limit for position measurements. Optically levitated microspheres have low mass and are…
Levitated optomechanical systems are rapidly becoming leading tools for precision sensing of forces and accelerations acting on particles in the femtogram to nanogram mass range. These systems enable a high level of control over the…
We propose a method for frequency stabilization of a resonant opto-mechanical oscillator utilizing the different temperature and strain dependence of the optical and mechanical modes. In particular, we show that the temperature of the…
We achieved for the first time a direct measurement of the thermal fluctuation of a pendulum in an off-resonant region using a laser interferometric gravitational wave detector. These measurements have been well identified for over one…
We investigate experimentally the dynamics of a non-spherical levitated nanoparticle in vacuum. In addition to translation and rotation motion, we observe the light torque-induced precession and nutation of the trapped particle. We provide…
Thermal fluctuations can play an important role in the buckling of elastic objects at small scales, such as polymers or nanotubes. In this paper, we study the finite-temperature buckling transition of an extensible rod by analyzing…