Thermodynamic limits for optomechanical systems with conservative potentials

Stephen Ragole, Haitan Xu, John Lawall, and Jacob M. Taylor
Phys. Rev. B 96, 184106 – Published 13 November 2017

Abstract

The mechanical force from light—radiation pressure—provides an intrinsically nonlinear interaction. Consequently, optomechanical systems near their steady state, such as the canonical optical spring, can display nonanalytic behavior as a function of external parameters. This nonanalyticity, a key feature of thermodynamic phase transitions, suggests that there could be an effective thermodynamic description of optomechanical systems. Here we explicitly define the thermodynamic limit for optomechanical systems and derive a set of sufficient constraints on the system parameters as the mechanical system grows large. As an example, we show how these constraints can be satisfied in a system with Z2 symmetry and derive a free energy, allowing us to characterize this as an equilibrium phase transition.

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  • Received 1 September 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.96.184106

©2017 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Atomic, Molecular & OpticalStatistical Physics & ThermodynamicsGeneral Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Stephen Ragole1,2,*, Haitan Xu3, John Lawall4, and Jacob M. Taylor1,2,3

  • 1Joint Quantum Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
  • 2Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
  • 3Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06520, USA
  • 4National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, 20899, USA

  • *ragole@umd.edu

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Issue

Vol. 96, Iss. 18 — 1 November 2017

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