Cavity optomechanics in a levitated helium drop

L. Childress, M. P. Schmidt, A. D. Kashkanova, C. D. Brown, G. I. Harris, A. Aiello, F. Marquardt, and J. G. E. Harris
Phys. Rev. A 96, 063842 – Published 29 December 2017

Abstract

We describe a proposal for a type of optomechanical system based on a drop of liquid helium that is magnetically levitated in vacuum. In the proposed device, the drop would serve three roles: its optical whispering-gallery modes would provide the optical cavity, its surface vibrations would constitute the mechanical element, and evaporation of He atoms from its surface would provide continuous refrigeration. We analyze the feasibility of such a system in light of previous experimental demonstrations of its essential components: magnetic levitation of mm-scale and cm-scale drops of liquid He, evaporative cooling of He droplets in vacuum, and coupling to high-quality optical whispering-gallery modes in a wide range of liquids. We find that the combination of these features could result in a device that approaches the single-photon strong-coupling regime, due to the high optical quality factors attainable at low temperatures. Moreover, the system offers a unique opportunity to use optical techniques to study the motion of a superfluid that is freely levitating in vacuum (in the case of He4). Alternatively, for a normal fluid drop of He3, we propose to exploit the coupling between the drop's rotations and vibrations to perform quantum nondemolition measurements of angular momentum.

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  • Received 29 August 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.96.063842

©2017 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Atomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

L. Childress1,2, M. P. Schmidt3, A. D. Kashkanova1, C. D. Brown1, G. I. Harris1, A. Aiello3,4, F. Marquardt3,4, and J. G. E. Harris1,5,6

  • 1Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA
  • 2Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 Rue University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2T8
  • 3Institute for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstrasse 7, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
  • 4Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Staudtstr. 2, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
  • 5Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA
  • 6Yale Quantum Institute, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA

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Issue

Vol. 96, Iss. 6 — December 2017

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