Sideband Cooling Micromechanical Motion to the Quantum Ground State

Understand

The advent of laser cooling techniques revolutionized the study of many atomic-scale systems.

• This has fueled progress towards quantum computers by preparing trapped ions in their motional ground state, and generating new states of matter by achieving Bose-Einstein condensation of atomic vapors.
• Analogous cooling techniques provide a general and flexible method for preparing macroscopic objects in their motional ground state, bringing the powerful technology of micromechanics into the quantum regime.
• Cavity opto- or electro-mechanical systems achieve sideband cooling through the strong interaction between light and motion.