Imaging Correlations in Heterodyne Spectra for Quantum Displacement Sensing

Year: 2018

Authors: Pontin A., Lang J.E., Chowdhury A., Vezio P., Marino F., Morana B., Serra E., Marin F., Monteiro T.S.

Autors Affiliation: UCL, Dept Phys & Astron, Gower St, London WC1E 6BT, England; Ist Nazl Fis Nucl, Sez Firenze, Via Sansone 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, FI, Italy; CNR, INO, L Go Enrico Fermi 6, I-50125 Florence, Italy; Univ Firenze, Dipartimento Fis & Astron, Via Sansone 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, FI, Italy; Nanosci Trento FBK Div, Inst Mat Elect & Magnetism, I-38123 Povo, TN, Italy; Delft Univ Technol, Else Kooi Lab, NL-2628 Delft, Netherlands; TIFPA, Ist Nazl Fis Nucl, I-38123 Povo, TN, Italy; European Lab Nonlinear Spect LENS, Via Carrara 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, FI, Italy.

Abstract: The extraordinary sensitivity of the output field of an optical cavity to small quantum-scale displacements has led to breakthroughs such as the first detection of gravitational waves and of the motions of quantum ground-state cooled mechanical oscillators. While heterodyne detection of the output optical field of an optomechanical system exhibits asymmetries which provide a key signature that the mechanical oscillator has attained the quantum regime, important quantum correlations are lost. In turn, homodyning can detect quantum squeezing in an optical quadrature but loses the important sideband asymmetries. Here we introduce and experimentally demonstrate a new technique, subjecting the autocorrelators of the output current to filter functions, which restores the lost heterodyne correlations (whether classical or quantum), drastically augmenting the useful information accessible. The filtering even adjusts for moderate errors in the locking phase of the local oscillator. Hence we demonstrate the single-shot measurement of hundreds of different field quadratures allowing the rapid imaging of detailed features from a simple heterodyne trace. We also obtain a spectrum of hybrid homodyne-heterodyne character, with motional sidebands of combined amplitudes comparable to homodyne. Although investigated here in a thermal regime, the method’s robustness and generality represents a promising new approach to sensing of quantum-scale displacements.

Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS

Volume: 120 (2)      Pages from: 020503-1  to: 1020503-6

More Information: The authors acknowledge useful discussions with Erika Aranas, Andrew Higginbotham, and Florian Marquardt. This project has received funding from the European Union
KeyWords: GROUND-STATE; CAVITY; OSCILLATOR
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.020503

Citations: 13
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