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Cooling and squeezing via quadratic optomechanical coupling

A. Nunnenkamp, K. Børkje, J. G. E. Harris, and S. M. Girvin
Phys. Rev. A 82, 021806(R) – Published 31 August 2010

Abstract

We explore the physics of optomechanical systems in which an optical cavity mode is coupled parametrically to the square of the position of a mechanical oscillator. We derive an effective master equation describing two-phonon cooling of the mechanical oscillator. We show that for high temperatures and weak coupling, the steady-state phonon number distribution is nonthermal (Gaussian) and that even for strong cooling the mean phonon number remains finite. Moreover, we demonstrate how to achieve mechanical squeezing by driving the cavity with two beams. Finally, we calculate the optical output and squeezing spectra. Implications for optomechanics experiments with the membrane-in-the-middle geometry or ultracold atoms in optical resonators are discussed.

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  • Received 14 April 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.82.021806

©2010 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

A. Nunnenkamp, K. Børkje, J. G. E. Harris, and S. M. Girvin

  • Departments of Physics and Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA

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Vol. 82, Iss. 2 — August 2010

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