Propagating phonons coupled to an artificial atom

Understand

Quantum information can be stored in micromechanical resonators, encoded as quanta of vibration known as phonons.

• The vibrational motion is then restricted to the stationary eigenmodes of the resonator, which thus serves as local storage for phonons.
• In contrast, we couple propagating phonons to an artificial atom in the quantum regime, and reproduce findings from quantum optics with sound taking over the role of light.
• Our results highlight the similarities between phonons and photons, but also point to new opportunities arising from the unique features of quantum mechanical sound.