Date/Time
Date(s) - 23/01/2013
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm

Title: Quantum Optomechanics: A Mechanical Platform for Quantum Information and Quantum Foundations

Speaker: Dr. Marcus Aspelmeyer, University of Vienna

Institute: University of Vienna

Location: ABB 102

Description:

Massive mechanical objects are now becoming available as new
systems for quantum science. Quantum optics provides a powerful toolbox to generate, manipulate and detect quantum states of motion of such mechanical systems â?? from nanomechanical waveguides of some picogram to macroscopic,
kilogram-weight mirrors of gravitational wave detectors. Recent experiments, including laser-cooling of massive mechanical devices into their quantum ground state of motion, and demonstrations of the strong coupling regime
provide the primary building blocks for full quantum optical control of mechanics, i.e. quantum optomechanics. This has fascinating perspectives for both applications and for quantum foundations: For example, the on-chip
integrability of nano- and micromechanics, together with their flexibility to couple to different physical systems, offers a novel perspective for solid-state quantum information processing architectures. At the same time,
the mass of available mechanical resonators provides access to a hitherto untested parameter regime of macroscopic quantum physics, eventually providing novel tests at the interface of quantum physics and gravity.