A macroscopic object passively cooled into its quantum ground state of motion beyond single-mode cooling.

ABSTRACT: The nature of the quantum-to-classical crossover remains one of the most challenging open question of Science to date. In this respect, moving objects play a specific role. Pioneering experiments over the last few years have begun exploring quantum behaviour of micron-sized mechanical systems, either by passively cooling single GHz modes, or by adapting laser cooling techniques developed in atomic physics to cool specific low-frequency modes far below the temperature of their surroundings. Here instead we describe a very different approach, passive cooling of a whole micromechanical system down to 500 μK, reducing the average number of quanta in the fundamental vibrational mode at 15 MHz to just 0.3 (with even lower values expected for higher harmonics); the challenge being to be still abl

SUBMITTER: Cattiaux D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8548555 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature