Objective
The objective of this project is to control the dynamics of a nanoscale object with unprecedented precision and to study interactions on the mesoscale, - the grey zone between the discrete atomistic world and the continuous world of macroscopic objects.
A single nanoparticle will be captured by the gradient force of a focused laser beam in ultrahigh vacuum and its center-of-mass motion will be controlled by optical back-action. To cool the nanoparticle to its quantum ground state we will explore active parametric feedback cooling in combination with passive cavity-based cooling.
A laser-trapped nanoparticle is physically decoupled from its environment, which guarantees extremely long coherence times and quality factors as high as 10^11 in ultrahigh vacuum. Force sensitivities of 10^(-20) Newtons in a bandwidth of 1 Hz can be achieved, which outperforms other measurement techniques by orders of magnitude. In this project, we will use a laser-trapped nanoparticle as a local probe for measuring mesoscopic interactions, such as Casimir forces, vacuum friction, non-equilibrium dynamics and phase transitions, with unprecedented accuracy.
We will also measure the dynamics of nanoparticles in double-well potentials created by two laser beams with closely spaced foci. A pair of trapped nanoparticles defines a highly controllable coupled-oscillator model, which can be used for studying strong coupling, level splitting, and adiabatic energy transfer at the quantum - classical barrier.
A nanoparticle cooled to its quantum ground state opens up a plethora of fundamental studies, such as the collapse of quantum superposition states under the influence of noise and gravity-induced quantum state reduction. This project will also open up new directions for precision metrology and provide unprecedented control over the dynamics of matter on the nanometer scale.
Fields of science
Call for proposal
ERC-2013-ADG
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
ERC-AG - ERC Advanced GrantHost institution
8092 Zuerich
Switzerland