Related papers: Mass and Shape Determination of Optically Levitate…
We present a novel technique for measuring the characteristics of a magneto-optical trap for cold atoms by monitoring the spontaneous emission from trapped atoms coupled into the guided mode of a tapered optical nanofiber. We show that the…
The optical response of metal nanoparticles is governed by plasmonic resonances, which are dictated by the particle morphology. A thorough understanding of the link between morphology and optical response requires quantitatively measuring…
We have realized a high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer combined with a magneto-optical trap. The spectrometer enables excellent optical access to the trapped atomic cloud using specifically devised acceleration and deflection…
Rotational optical tweezers are used to probe the mechanical properties of unknown microsystems. Quantifying the angular trap stiffness is essential for interpreting the rotational dynamics of probe particles. While methods to determine…
Optical tweezers equipped with position detection allow for application of piconewton-scale forces and high-temporal-resolution measurements of nanometer-scale motion. While typically used for trapping microscopic objects, the optical…
Levitated optomechanical systems, and particularly particles trapped in vacuum, provide unique platforms for studying the mechanical behavior of objects well-isolated from their environment. Ultimately, such systems may enable the study of…
Understanding and mastering the mechanical properties of metallic nanoparticles is crucial for their use in a wide range of applications. In this context, we use atomic-scale (Molecular Dynamics) and continuous (Finite Elements)…
Collective off resonant scattering of coherent light by a cold gas induces long-range interactions via interference of light scattered by different particles. In a 1D configuration these interactions grow particularly strong for particles…
Moving nanoparticles/atoms to study the nearfield interaction between them is one of the many approaches to explore the optical and electrical properties of these assemblies. Traditional approach included the self assembly by spinning or…
We report on a search for non-Newtonian forces that couple to mass, with a characteristic scale of ${\sim}10~\mu$m, using an optically levitated microsphere as a precision force sensor. A silica microsphere trapped in an upward-propagating,…
While the alignment and rotation of microparticles in optical traps have received increased attention recently, one of the earliest examples has been almost totally neglected the alignment of particles relative to the beam axis, as opposed…
We show how entanglement between two optically levitated nanoparticles can be generated and detected by coherent scattering of tweezer photons into a single cavity mode. Triggered by the detection of a Stokes photon, the tweezer detuning is…
We show how to detect and quantify entanglement of atoms in optical lattices in terms of correlations functions of the momentum distribution. These distributions can be measured directly in the experiments. We introduce two kinds of…
The shape of metal nanoparticles embedded in dielectric matrices influences the optical properties of the composite material. Swift heavy ion irradiation can induce a controllable shape transformation in gold and other metals embedded in…
The technique of Penning trap mass spectrometry is briefly reviewed particularly in view of precision experiments on unstable nuclei, performed at different facilities worldwide. Selected examples of recent results emphasize the importance…
A nanoscale object evidenced in a non-classical state of its centre of mass will hugely extend the boundaries of quantum mechanics. To obtain a practical scheme for the same, we exploit a hitherto unexplored coupled system: an atom and a…
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…
The use of levitated nanospheres represents a new paradigm for the optomechanical cooling of a small mechanical oscillator, with the prospect of realising quantum oscillators with unprecedentedly high quality factors. We investigate the…
Optomechanics is concerned with the use of light to control mechanical objects. As a field, it has been hugely successful in the production of precise and novel sensors, the development of low-dissipation nanomechanical devices, and the…
The ability of metallic nanostructures to confine light at the sub-wavelength scale enables new perspectives and opportunities in the field of nanotechnology. Making use of this unique advantage, nano-optical trapping techniques have been…