Quantum optomechanics is rapidly developing into a major area of research, with several groups having now achieved cooling of the center-of-mass motion of micromechanical systems close to the quantum mechanical ground state, where the effects of thermal noise become negligible. Building on these developments, hybrid systems that consist of mechanical systems operating in the quantum regime and are coupled to atoms, molecules, or artificial atoms, are likely to provide an important testing ground to address a broad spectrum of questions ranging from fundamental physics to the development of novel sensors. Within this broad context this project studies theoretically systems at the boundary between atomic, molecular and optical (AMO) science and mesoscopic physics. A central aspect is the transfer of single-mode and multimode quantum states between micromechanical structures and atomic matter-wave fields.
This research has the potential to impact a number of areas in fundamental and applied science: They include the quantum control of atomic and mechanical systems, the study of the quantum behavior of objects of increasingly macroscopic size and the quantum/classical interface, fundamental studies of decoherence in macroscopic quantum systems, as well as applications that span a variety of topics in quantum detection and sensing. In the past, many new ideas and concepts have been first discussed and tested in an AMO context before diffusing to a broad range of other fields. This project fits squarely with this description. Because AMO science is in the rather unique and privileged position of being both a fundamental branch of physics, as well as an enabling science, it also provides an outstanding training ground for students, who find themselves naturally exposed a broad range of physics problems and areas. This training may lead students to careers in ultracoldscience, nanoscience, quantum information, quantum control, metrology, and nanoscience, both in academia and in industry.
