dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaRadiation-pressure cooling and optomechanical instability of a micro-mirror
| Authors | O. Arcizet, P. -F. Cohadon, T. Briant, M. Pinard, A. Heidmann |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0607205 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0607205 |
| DOI | 10.1038/nature05244 |
| Journal | Nature 444 (2006) 71 |
Abstract
Recent experimental progress in table-top experiments or gravitational-wave interferometers has enlightened the unique displacement sensitivity offered by optical interferometry. As the mirrors move in response to radiation pressure, higher power operation, though crucial for further sensitivity enhancement, will however increase quantum effects of radiation pressure, or even jeopardize the stable operation of the detuned cavities proposed for next-generation interferometers. The appearance of such optomechanical instabilities is the result of the nonlinear interplay between the motion of the mirrors and the optical field dynamics. In a detuned cavity indeed, the displacements of the mirror are coupled to intensity fluctuations, which modifies the effective dynamics of the mirror. Such "optical spring" effects have already been demonstrated on the mechanical damping of an electromagnetic waveguide with a moving wall, on the resonance frequency of a specially designed flexure oscillator, and through the optomechanical instability of a silica micro-toroidal resonator. We present here an experiment where a micro-mechanical resonator is used as a mirror in a very high-finesse optical cavity and its displacements monitored with an unprecedented sensitivity. By detuning the cavity, we have observed a drastic cooling of the micro-resonator by intracavity radiation pressure, down to an effective temperature of 10 K. We have also obtained an efficient heating for an opposite detuning, up to the observation of a radiation-pressure induced instability of the resonator. Further experimental progress and cryogenic operation may lead to the experimental observation of the quantum ground state of a mechanical resonator, either by passive or active cooling techniques.
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"abstract": "Recent experimental progress in table-top experiments or gravitational-wave\ninterferometers has enlightened the unique displacement sensitivity offered by\noptical interferometry. As the mirrors move in response to radiation pressure,\nhigher power operation, though crucial for further sensitivity enhancement,\nwill however increase quantum effects of radiation pressure, or even jeopardize\nthe stable operation of the detuned cavities proposed for next-generation\ninterferometers. The appearance of such optomechanical instabilities is the\nresult of the nonlinear interplay between the motion of the mirrors and the\noptical field dynamics. In a detuned cavity indeed, the displacements of the\nmirror are coupled to intensity fluctuations, which modifies the effective\ndynamics of the mirror. Such \"optical spring\" effects have already been\ndemonstrated on the mechanical damping of an electromagnetic waveguide with a\nmoving wall, on the resonance frequency of a specially designed flexure\noscillator, and through the optomechanical instability of a silica\nmicro-toroidal resonator. We present here an experiment where a\nmicro-mechanical resonator is used as a mirror in a very high-finesse optical\ncavity and its displacements monitored with an unprecedented sensitivity. By\ndetuning the cavity, we have observed a drastic cooling of the micro-resonator\nby intracavity radiation pressure, down to an effective temperature of 10 K. We\nhave also obtained an efficient heating for an opposite detuning, up to the\nobservation of a radiation-pressure induced instability of the resonator.\nFurther experimental progress and cryogenic operation may lead to the\nexperimental observation of the quantum ground state of a mechanical resonator,\neither by passive or active cooling techniques.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0607205",
"authors": [
"O. Arcizet",
"P. -F. Cohadon",
"T. Briant",
"M. Pinard",
"A. Heidmann"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1038/nature05244",
"journal_ref": "Nature 444 (2006) 71",
"title": "Radiation-pressure cooling and optomechanical instability of a micro-mirror",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0607205"
},
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