Engineering recoil heating in coherent-scattering levitated optomechanics

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Lednev, Maksim, Delić, Uroš, Feist, Johannes, Gonzalez-Ballestero, Carlos
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Lednev, Maksim
Delić, Uroš
Feist, Johannes
Gonzalez-Ballestero, Carlos
author_facet Lednev, Maksim
Delić, Uroš
Feist, Johannes
Gonzalez-Ballestero, Carlos
contents Recoil heating from photon scattering is a fundamental source of decoherence in optical trapping, severely limiting the preparation of nonclassical motional states. In cavity setups in the coherent scattering configuration, a predictive theory of recoil heating rate is missing, as usual perturbative approaches fail in the presence of sharp optical resonances. Hence, current works assume that the recoil heating rate is approximately equal to its free-space value. Here we show that this is not the case, as the electromagnetic environment can strongly modify recoil heating rate by the Purcell effect. Specifically, we predict that this rate can be significantly suppressed in state-of-the-art microcavities, for both center-of-mass and librational motion. To establish these results, we develop a general theoretical framework based on macroscopic quantum electrodynamics and on the few-mode quantization approach developed in nanophotonics. Our method applies to particles trapped in the presence of arbitrary electromagnetic structures, thus providing a route to engineering motional decoherence in levitated optomechanics by photonic structure design.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_29609
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Engineering recoil heating in coherent-scattering levitated optomechanics
Lednev, Maksim
Delić, Uroš
Feist, Johannes
Gonzalez-Ballestero, Carlos
Quantum Physics
Optics
Recoil heating from photon scattering is a fundamental source of decoherence in optical trapping, severely limiting the preparation of nonclassical motional states. In cavity setups in the coherent scattering configuration, a predictive theory of recoil heating rate is missing, as usual perturbative approaches fail in the presence of sharp optical resonances. Hence, current works assume that the recoil heating rate is approximately equal to its free-space value. Here we show that this is not the case, as the electromagnetic environment can strongly modify recoil heating rate by the Purcell effect. Specifically, we predict that this rate can be significantly suppressed in state-of-the-art microcavities, for both center-of-mass and librational motion. To establish these results, we develop a general theoretical framework based on macroscopic quantum electrodynamics and on the few-mode quantization approach developed in nanophotonics. Our method applies to particles trapped in the presence of arbitrary electromagnetic structures, thus providing a route to engineering motional decoherence in levitated optomechanics by photonic structure design.
title Engineering recoil heating in coherent-scattering levitated optomechanics
topic Quantum Physics
Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.29609