Mesoscopic physics of nanomechanical systems

Adrian Bachtold, Joel Moser, and M. I. Dykman
Rev. Mod. Phys. 94, 045005 – Published 8 December 2022

Abstract

Nanomechanics has brought mesoscopic physics into the world of vibrations. Because nanomechanical systems are small, fluctuations are significant, the vibrations already become nonlinear for comparatively small amplitudes, and new mechanisms of dissipation come into play. At the same time, the exquisite control of these systems makes them a platform for studying many problems of classical and quantum physics far from thermal equilibrium in a well-characterized setting. This review describes, at a conceptual level, basic theoretical ideas and explicative experiments pertaining to mesoscopic physics of nanomechanical systems. Major applications of nanomechanics in science and technology are also outlined. A broad range of phenomena related to the conservative as well as dissipative nonlinearity and fluctuations are discussed within a unifying framework. They include the linear response of single and coupled vibrational modes as well as nonlinear effects of periodic driving. Such driving breaks the continuous time-translation symmetry and the detailed balance, with conspicuous consequences for fluctuations, particularly in the presence of the driving-induced bistability and multistability. Mathematical techniques are described in the appendixes to provide an introduction to the theory. The goal of the review is to show the richness of the physics at work. The continuous experimental and theoretical advances make nanomechanical systems a vibrant area of research with many new phenomena to discover.

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  • Received 27 January 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.94.045005

© 2022 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Adrian Bachtold*

  • ICFO—Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain

Joel Moser

  • School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, People’s Republic of China

M. I. Dykman

  • Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48823, USA

  • *adrian.bachtold@icfo.es
  • j.moser@suda.edu.cn
  • dykman@pa.msu.edu

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Issue

Vol. 94, Iss. 4 — October - December 2022

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