Exploring macroscopic quantum mechanics in optomechanical devices

✍ Scribed by Haixing Miao (auth.)

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
• Year: 2012
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 216
• Series: Springer theses
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Recent state-of-the-art technologies in fabricating low-loss optical and mechanical components have significantly motivated the study of quantum-limited measurements with optomechanical devices. Such research is the main subject of this thesis. In the first part, the author considers various approaches for surpassing the standard quantum limit for force measurements. In the second part, the author proposes different experimental protocols for using optomechanical interactions to explore quantum behaviors of macroscopic mechanical objects. Even though this thesis mostly focuses on large-scale laser interferometer gravitational-wave detectors and related experiments, the general approaches apply equally well for studying small-scale optomechanical devices.

The author is the winner of the 2010 Thesis prize awarded by the Gravitational Wave International Committee.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter....Pages i-xxi
Introduction....Pages 1-12
Quantum Theory of Gravitational-Wave Detectors....Pages 13-49
Modifying Input Optics: Double Squeezed-Input....Pages 51-63
Modifying Test-Mass Dynamics: Double Optical Spring....Pages 65-73
Measuring a Conserved Quantity: Variational Quadrature Readout....Pages 75-83
MQM With Three-Mode Optomechanical Interactions....Pages 85-106
Achieving the Ground State and Enhancing Optomechanical Entanglement....Pages 107-125
Universal Entanglement Between an Oscillator and Continuous Fields....Pages 127-139
Nonlinear Optomechanical System for Probing Mechanical Energy Quantization....Pages 141-149
State Preparation: Non-Gaussian Quantum State....Pages 151-164
Probing Macroscopic Quantum States....Pages 165-202
Conclusions and Future Work....Pages 203-205

✦ Subjects

Astrophysics and Astroparticles;Laser Technology, Photonics;Measurement Science and Instrumentation;Classical and Quantum Gravitation, Relativity Theory;Optics, Optoelectronics, Plasmonics and Optical Devices