Quantum ground-state cooling of two librational modes of a nanorotor

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Troyer, Stephan, Fechtel, Florian, Hummer, Lorenz, Rudolph, Henning, Stickler, Benjamin A., Delić, Uroš, Arndt, Markus
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Troyer, Stephan
Fechtel, Florian
Hummer, Lorenz
Rudolph, Henning
Stickler, Benjamin A.
Delić, Uroš
Arndt, Markus
author_facet Troyer, Stephan
Fechtel, Florian
Hummer, Lorenz
Rudolph, Henning
Stickler, Benjamin A.
Delić, Uroš
Arndt, Markus
contents Controlling the motion of nanoscale objects at the quantum limit promises new tests of quantum mechanics and advanced sensors. Rotational motion is of particular interest, as it follows nonlinear dynamics in a compact, closed configuration space, which opens up a plethora of phenomena and applications beyond the possibilities of free or trapped linear motion. A prerequisite for such experiments is the capability to trap nanorotors and initialize them in a quantum ground state of libration. Here, we demonstrate the reliable, repetitive laser-induced loading of silica nanodimers and trimers into an optical tweezer. Coherent scattering in a high-finesse cavity allows us to cool two different librational modes to the quantum ground state with occupation numbers as low as $n_β=0.54\pm0.32$ and $n_α=0.21\pm0.03$. By simultaneously cooling both degrees of freedom ($n_β=0.73\pm0.22$, $n_α=1.02\pm0.08$) we align nanorotors to a space-fixed axis with precision better than 20$\,μ$rad, close to the zero-point amplitude of librations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_13398
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Quantum ground-state cooling of two librational modes of a nanorotor
Troyer, Stephan
Fechtel, Florian
Hummer, Lorenz
Rudolph, Henning
Stickler, Benjamin A.
Delić, Uroš
Arndt, Markus
Quantum Physics
Optics
Controlling the motion of nanoscale objects at the quantum limit promises new tests of quantum mechanics and advanced sensors. Rotational motion is of particular interest, as it follows nonlinear dynamics in a compact, closed configuration space, which opens up a plethora of phenomena and applications beyond the possibilities of free or trapped linear motion. A prerequisite for such experiments is the capability to trap nanorotors and initialize them in a quantum ground state of libration. Here, we demonstrate the reliable, repetitive laser-induced loading of silica nanodimers and trimers into an optical tweezer. Coherent scattering in a high-finesse cavity allows us to cool two different librational modes to the quantum ground state with occupation numbers as low as $n_β=0.54\pm0.32$ and $n_α=0.21\pm0.03$. By simultaneously cooling both degrees of freedom ($n_β=0.73\pm0.22$, $n_α=1.02\pm0.08$) we align nanorotors to a space-fixed axis with precision better than 20$\,μ$rad, close to the zero-point amplitude of librations.
title Quantum ground-state cooling of two librational modes of a nanorotor
topic Quantum Physics
Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.13398