The optomechanical instability in the quantum regime

Details The optomechanical instability in the quantum regime The optomechanical instability in the quantum regime

2008-03-26

arxiv.org/abs/0803.3714v1

Physics

Condensed Matter

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics

23 pages, 6 figures, subm. to focus issue of New Journal of Physics on "Mechanical Systems at the Quantum Limit"

Scientific paper

10.1088/1367-2630/10/9/095013

We consider a generic optomechanical system, consisting of a driven optical cavity and a movable mirror attached to a cantilever. Systems of this kind (and analogues) have been realized in many recent experiments. It is well known that those systems can exhibit an instability towards a regime where the cantilever settles into self-sustained oscillations. In this paper, we briefly review the classical theory of the optomechanical instability, and then discuss the features arising in the quantum regime. We solve numerically a full quantum master equation for the coupled system, and use it to analyze the photon number, the cantilever's mechanical energy, the phonon probability distribution and the mechanical Wigner density, as a function of experimentally accessible control parameters. We observe and discuss the quantum-to-classical transition as a function of a suitable dimensionless quantum parameter.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

The optomechanical instability in the quantum regime does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with The optomechanical instability in the quantum regime, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The optomechanical instability in the quantum regime will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-49854