Related papers: Quantum-limited optical lever measurement of a tor…
The coupling of laser light to a mechanical oscillator via radiation pressure leads to the emergence of quantum mechanical correlations between the amplitude and phase quadrature of the laser beam. These correlations form a generic…
Laser light with squeezed quantum uncertainty is a powerful tool for interferometric sensing. A routine application can be found in gravitational wave observatories. A significant quantum advantage is only achievable if a large fraction of…
Force sensors are at the heart of different technologies such as atomic force microscopy or inertial sensing \cite{RMPforce2003, Rugar2004, YazdiIEEE}. These sensors often rely on the measurement of the displacement amplitude of mechanical…
Interactions between atoms and lasers provide the potential for unprecedented control of quantum states. Fulfilling this potential requires detailed knowledge of frequency noise in optical oscillators with state-of-the-art stability. We…
We have developed a scheme to measure the optical torque, exerted by a laser beam on a phase object, by measuring the orbital angular momentum of the transmitted beam. The experiment is a macroscopic simulation of a situation in optical…
We report on the injection locking of an optically levitated nanomechanical oscillator (a silica nanosphere) to resonant intensity modulations of an external optical signal. We explore the characteristic features of injection locking in…
We experimentally surpass the 3dB limit to steady state parametric squeezing of a mechanical oscillator. The localization of a AFM cantilever, achieved by optimal estimation, is enhanced by up to 6.2 dB in one position quadrature when a…
We report three orders of magnitude optical cooling of the fundamental torsional mode of a 5 mm-long, 550 nm diameter optical nanofiber. The rotation of the nanofiber couples to the polarization of guided laser fields. We use a weak laser…
In optomechanical systems, the libration and rotation of nanoparticles offer profound insights for ultrasensitive torque measurement and macroscopic quantum superpositions. Achievements include transitioning libration to rotation up to 6…
High-Q optical microresonators combine low losses and high optical energy concentration in a small effective mode volume, making them an attractive platform for optical sensors. While light is confined in the microresonator by total…
We built an ultra low noise angle sensor by combining a folded optical lever and a Sagnac interferometer. The instrument has a measured noise floor of 1.3 prad / Hz^(1/2) at 2.4 kHz. We achieve this record angle sensitivity using a…
We show that torsion resonators can experience massive dissipation dilution due to nanoscale strain, and draw a connection to a century-old theory from the torsion balance community which suggests that a simple torsion ribbon is naturally…
Levitated optomechanics is showing potential for precise force measurements. Here, we report a case study, to show experimentally the capacity of such a force sensor. Using an electric field as a tool to detect a Coulomb force applied onto…
We prove that the force sensitivity of the conventional optomechanical detector associated with the optical quadrature measurement of the output beam is lower bounded by the so-called ultimate quantum limit (UQL), i.e., the absolute value…
We study the detection of weak coherent forces by means of an optomechanical device formed by a highly reflecting isolated mirror shined by an intense and highly monochromatic laser field. Radiation pressure excites a vibrational mode of…
We explore the use of a spatial mode sorter to image a nanomechanical resonator, with the goal of studying the quantum limits of active imaging and extending the toolbox for optomechanical force sensing. In our experiment, we reflect a…
An optically levitated nanoparticle in vacuum is a paradigm optomechanical system for sensing and studying macroscopic quantum mechanics. While its center-of-mass motion has been investigated intensively, its torsional vibration has only…
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…
The radiation-pressure driven interaction of a coherent light field with a mechanical oscillator induces correlations between the amplitude and phase quadratures of the light. These correlations result in squeezed light -- light with…
Tapered optical fibers (TOFs) are used in many areas of physics and optical technologies ranging from coupling light into nanophotonic components to optical sensing and amplification to interfacing quantum emitters. Here, we study the…