Florian Marquardt Abstract

Florian Marquardt Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany

"Optomechanics"

ABSTRACT:

In this talk I will review recent progress in the physics of the interaction between radiation and mechanical motion. The paradigmatic system in this field of "optomechanics" consists of an optical cavity with a movable mirror attached to a candilever. I will discuss how the coupled dynamics of the light field inside the cavity and the cantilever motion gives rise to a series of interesting effects. On the level of classical dynamics, I will present the theory of nonlinear oscillations and the corresponding attractor diagram. Furthermore, it is possible to cool the cantilever by irradiating the cavity with a red-detuned laser beam. I will present the quantum theory of optomechanical cooling and discuss the prospects for reaching the ground state of the cantilever\'s center-of-mass motion. This could open the door to the observation of quantum jumps between Fock states of a macroscopic object, and I will illustrate this by presenting a setup where a quantum-non-demolition measurement of the cantilever\'s phonon number could be achieved.