Towards Quantum Optomechanical Dissipative Coupling

Abstract

The study of optomechanical cavities represents a rapidly growing area within quantum optics. By exploring it, we open doors to investigate essential questions of quantum mechanics and to discover a wide range of applications. However, conducting any kind of quantum experiment demands exceptional control over the physical system and the experimental apparatus. On one hand, this implies that the system under study must be strongly decoupled from the external environment and from all sources of classical noise-or from all sources of decoherence in general. On the other hand, the observer must be able to precisely manipulate the dynamics of the system and the quantum state of interest. Achieving this level of control is crucial for quantum effects to emerge clearly and for meaningful experiments to be conducted. This research project aims to address some problems of interest to quantum optomechanics: (1) exploring the effects of interference between dissipative and dispersive scattering mechanisms in reading and writing operations of quantum states to increase the efficiency of non-classical information storage protocols in optomechanical devices; (2) exploring complete cancellation of optomechanical heating/cooling through destructive interference between dispersive/dissipative couplings, creating a scalable tool for quantum information control; (3) cooling low-frequency mechanical resonators beyond the quantum limit, paving the way for the use of mechanical resonators in quantum transducers operating at elevated temperatures, where thermal noise contributions typically outweigh any quantum signal.