Cavity cooling of an optically levitated nanoparticle

Understand

The ability to trap and to manipulate individual atoms is at the heart of current implementations of quantum simulations, quantum computing, and long-distance quantum communication.

• Controlling the motion of larger particles opens up yet new avenues for quantum science, both for the study of fundamental quantum phenomena in the context of matter wave interference, and for new sensing and transduction applications in the context of quantum optomechanics.
• Specifically, it has been suggested that cavity cooling of a single nanoparticle in high vacuum allows for the generation of quantum states of motion in a room-temperature environment as well as for unprecedented force sensitivity.
• Here, we take the first steps into this regime.