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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…
The field of levitodynamics has made significant progress towards controlling and studying the motion of a levitated nanoparticle. Motional control relies on either autonomous feedback via a cavity or measurement-based feedback via external…
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…
We consider a nanoparticle levitated in a Paul trap in ultrahigh cryogenic vacuum, and look for the conditions which allow for a stringent noninterferometric test of spontaneous collapse models. In particular we compare different possible…
We report on strong cooling and orientational control of all translational and angular degrees of freedom of a nanoparticle levitated in an optical trap in high vacuum. The motional cooling and control of all six degrees of freedom of a…
We describe the design, construction, and operation of an apparatus utilizing a piezoelectric transducer for in-vacuum loading of nanoparticles into an optical trap for use in levitated optomechanics experiments. In contrast to commonly…
Optically trapped Silica nanoparticles are a promising tool for precise sensing of gravitational or inertial forces and fundamental physics, including tests of quantum mechanics at 'large' mass scales. This field, called levitated…
Near-fields around nanophotonic structures and waveguides can be used to optically interface particles ranging from atoms and molecules to microscopic biological and synthetic particles. Due to the strong, non-linear dependence of the…
We present experimental techniques and results related to the optimization and characterization of our nanofiber-based atom trap [Vetsch et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 203603 (2010)]. The atoms are confined in an optical lattice which is…
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…
We demonstrate and characterize the transfer of a levitating silica nanosphere between two optical tweezers, at low pressure. Both optical traps are mounted on the heads of optical fibers and placed on translation stages in vacuum chambers.…
Realizing a large-scale fully controllable quantum system is a challenging task in current physical research and has broad applications. Ultracold atom and molecule arrays in optical tweezers in vacuum have been used for quantum simulation,…
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…
Optically trapped nanospheres in high-vaccum experience little friction and hence are promising for ultra-sensitive force detection. Here we demonstrate measurement times exceeding $10^5$ seconds and zeptonewton force sensitivity with…
Neutral atoms trapped by laser light are amongst the most promising candidates for storing and processing information in a quantum computer or simulator. The application certainly calls for a scalable and flexible scheme for addressing and…
Trapped atoms near nanophotonics form an exciting platform for bottom-up synthesis of strongly interacting quantum matter. The ability to induce tunable long-range atom-atom interactions with photons presents an opportunity to explore…
A nanofiber-based optical tweezer is demonstrated. Trapping is achieved by combining attractive near-field optical gradient forces with repulsive electrostatic forces. Silica-coated Fe$_2$O$_3$ nanospheres of 300 diameter are trapped as…
Optical trapping, also known as optical tweezing or optical levitation, is a technique that uses highly focused laser beams to manipulate micro- and nanoscopic particles. In optical traps driven by high-energy pulses, material non-linearity…
We propose to introduce additional control in levitated optomechanics by trapping a meta-atom, i.e. a subwavelength and high-permittivity dielectric particle supporting Mie resonances. In particular, we theoretically demonstrate that…
Plasmonic nano-optical tweezers enable the non-invasive manipulation of nano-objects under low illumination intensities, and have become a powerful tool for nanotechnology and biophysics. However, measuring the trap stiffness of…