Quantum mechanics sets a limit for the precision of continuous measurement of the position of an oscillator. Here we show how it is possible to measure an oscillator without quantum backaction of the measurement by constructing one effective oscillator from two physical oscillators. We realize such a quantum-mechanics free subsystem using two micromechanical oscillators, and show the measurements of two collective quadratures while evading the quantum backaction by $8$ decibels on both of them, obtaining a total noise within a factor two of the full quantum limit. This facilitates detection of weak forces and the generation and measurement of nonclassical motional states of the oscillators. Moreover, we directly verify the quantum entanglement of the two oscillators by measuring the Duan quantity $1.4$ decibels below the separability bound.
We report the design of a diamond-based honeycomb phononic network, in which a mechanical resonator couples to three distinct phononic crystal waveguides. This two-dimensional (2D) phononic network extends an earlier study on one-dimensional (1D) phononic networks with closed mechanical subsystems. With a special design for the phononic band structures of the waveguides, any two neighboring resonators in the 2D network and the waveguide between them can form a closed mechanical subsystem, which enables nearest neighbor coupling and at the same time circumvents the scaling problems inherent in …
Phononic quantum networks feature distinct advantages over photonic networks for on-chip quantum communications, providing a promising platform for developing quantum computers with robust solid-state spin qubits. Large mechanical networks including one-dimensional chains of trapped ions, however, have inherent and well-known scaling problems. In addition, chiral phononic processes, which are necessary for conventional phononic quantum networks, are difficult to implement in a solid-state system. To overcome these seemingly unsolvable obstacles, we have developed a new network architecture tha…
A pure quantum state of large number N of oscillators, interacting via harmonic coupling, evolves such that any small subsystem n<<N of the global state approaches equilibrium. This provides a novel example where equilibration emerges as a natural phenomena under quantum dynamics alone, with no necessity to bring in any additional statistical postulates. Mixedness of equilibrated subsystems consisting of 1, 2, ....., n<<N clearly indicates that small subsystems are entangled with the rest of the state i.e., the bath. Every single mode oscillator is found to relax in a mixed density matrix of t…
A local description of quantum subsystems can be used to construct ontologies of the full quantum predictions. This paper communicates one possible way to do so. A retrocausal interpretation of quantum mechanics where the de Broglie-Bohm particles are the retrocausal agents is developed. This interpretation is constrained to be compatible with the existence of a local realist description of quantum subsystems.
A new quantum mechanical notion -- Conditional Density Matrix -- is discussed and is applied to describe some physical processes. This notion is a natural generalization of von Neumann density matrix for such processes as divisions of quantum systems into subsystems and reunifications of subsystems into new joint systems. Conditional Density Matrix assigns a quantum state to a subsystem of a composite system under condition that another part of the composite system is in some pure state.
Quantum dissipation is studied within two model oscillators, the Caldirola-Kanai (CK) oscillator as an open system with one degree of freedom and the Bateman-Feshbach-Tikochinsky (BFT) oscillator as a closed system with two degrees of freedom. Though these oscillators describe the same classical damped motion, the CK oscillator retains the quantum coherence, whereas the damped subsystem of the BFT oscillator exhibits both quantum decoherence and classical correlation. Furthermore the amplified subsystem of the BFT oscillator shows the same degree of quantum decohernce and classical correlation…
By means of the examples of classical and Bohmian quantum mechanics, we illustrate the well-known ideas of Boltzmann as to how one gets from laws defined for the universe as a whole to dynamical relations describing the evolution of subsystems. We explain how probabilities enter into this process, what quantum and classical probabilities have in common and where exactly their difference lies.
Using an elementary example based on two simple harmonic oscillators, we show how a relational time may be defined that leads to an approximate Schrodinger dynamics for subsystems, with corrections leading to an intrinsic decoherence in the energy eigenstates of the subsystem.
We theoretically study cooling of flexural modes of a mechanical oscillator by Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) atoms (Rb87) trapped in a magnetic trap. The mechanical oscillator with a tiny magnet attached on one of its free ends produces an oscillating magnetic field. When its oscillating frequency matches certain hyperfine Zeeman energy of Rb87 atoms, the trapped BEC atoms are coupled out of the magnetic trap by the mechanical oscillator, flying away from the trap with stolen energy from the mechanical oscillator. Thus the mode temperature of the mechanical oscillator is reduced. The mode tem…
Any Hilbert space with composite dimension can be factorized into a tensor product of smaller Hilbert spaces. This allows to decompose a quantum system into subsystems. We propose a simple tractable model for a constructive study of decompositions of quantum systems.
We propose and analyze a setup to achieve strong coupling between a single trapped atom and a mechanical oscillator. The interaction between the motion of the atom and the mechanical oscillator is mediated by a quantized light field in a laser driven high-finesse cavity. In particular, we show that high fidelity transfer of quantum states between the atom and the mechanical oscillator is in reach for existing or near future experimental parameters. Our setup provides the basic toolbox for coherent manipulation, preparation and measurement of micro- and nanomechanical oscillators via the tools …
Observing quantum phenomena in macroscopic objects, and the potential discovery of a fundamental limit in the applicability of quantum mechanics, has been a central topic of modern experimental physics. Highly coherent and heavy micro-mechanical oscillators controlled by superconducting circuits are a promising system for this task. Here, we focus in particular on the electrostatic coupling of motion to a weakly anharmonic circuit, namely the transmon qubit. In the case of a megahertz mechanical oscillator coupled to a gigahertz transmon, we explain the difficulties in bridging the large elect…
It has been recently proposed that single molecule spectroscopy could be employed to detect the motion of nano-mechanical resonators. Estimates of the coupling constant (g) between the molecular two-level system and the oscillator indicate that it can reach values much larger than the mechanical resonating pulsation (omega_m) and the two-level system linewidth (Gamma). Other experimental realization of the same system are also approching this strong coupling regim. In this paper we investigate the behavior of the system in the limit for slow mechanical oscillator omega_m << Gamma}. We find tha…
Nano-mechanical resonators have a large potential as sensors of very small adsorbed masses, down to the atomic level and beyond. Here I establish the fundamental lower bound on the mass that can be measured with a nano-mechanical oscillator in a given quantum state based on the quantum Cramér--Rao bound, limited only by the laws of quantum mechanics, and identify the quantum states which will allow the largest sensitivity for a given maximum energy.
A quantum theory of cooling of a mechanical oscillator by radiation pressure-induced dynamical back-action is developed, which is analogous to sideband cooling of trapped ions. We find that final occupancies well below unity can be attained when the mechanical oscillation frequency is larger than the cavity linewidth. It is shown that the final average occupancy can be retrieved directly from the optical output spectrum.
We study a series of $N$ oscillators each coupled to its nearest neighbours, and linearly to a phonon field through the oscillator's number operator. We show that the Hamiltonian of a pair of adjacent oscillators, or a dimer, within the series of oscillators can be transformed to a form in which they are collectively coupled to the phonon field as a composite unit. In the weak coupling and rotating-wave approximation, the system behaves effectively like the trilinear boson model in the one excitation subspace of the dimer subsystem. The reduced dynamics of the one excitation subspace of the di…
Quantum oscillators in Gaussian states are often characterized by average occupation numbers that refer to a basis of eigenstates of the non-interacting oscillator Hamiltonian. We argue that quantum state purity is a more appropriate characteristic of such states, which can be applied to oscillators of any dimensionality. For a one-dimensional oscillator, the state purity is directly related to a thermal occupation number defined with respect to the number state basis in which the oscillator's quantum state is thermal. Thus, it naturally introduces a more versatile definition of an average occ…
Many theories are formulated as constrained systems. We provide a mechanism that explains the origin of physical states of a constrained system by a process of selection of noiseless subsystems when the system is coupled to an external environment. Effectively, physical states that solve all the constraints are selected by a passive error correction scheme which has been developed in the context of quantum information processing. We apply this mechanism to several constrained theories including the relativistic particle, electromagnetism, and quantum gravity, and discuss some interesting (and …
We study the behavior of a subsystem (harmonic oscillator) in contact with a thermal reservoir (finite set of uncoupled harmonic oscillators). We exactly solve the eigenvalue problem and obtain the temporal evolution of the dynamical variables of interest. We show how the subsystem goes to equilibrium and give quantitative estimates of the Poincaré recurrence times. We study the behavior of the subsystem mean ocuppation number in the limit of a dense bath and compare it with the expected exponential decay law.
Achieving quantum correlations between two distant systems is a desirable feature for quantum networking. In this work, we study a system composed of two quantum emitter-cavity subsystems spatially separated. A mechanical resonator couples to either both quantum emitters or both cavities leading to quantum correlations between both subsystems such as non-local light-matter dressed states and cavity-cavity normal mode splitting. These indirect couplings can be explained by an effective Hamiltonian for large energy detuning between the mechanical resonator and the atoms/cavities. Moreover, it is…
We consider a standard optomechanical system where a mechanical oscillator is coupled to a cavity mode through the radiation pressure interaction. The oscillator is coherently driven at its resonance frequency, whereas the cavity mode is driven below its resonance, providing optical damping of the mechanical oscillations. We study the nonlinear coherent response of the mechanical oscillator in this setup. For large mechanical amplitudes, we find that the system can display dynamical multistability if the optomechanical cooperativity exceeds a critical value. This analysis relates standard opto…
We generalize a proposal for detecting single phonon transitions in a single nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) to include the intrinsic anharmonicity of each mechanical oscillator. In this scheme two NEMS oscillators are coupled via a term quadratic in the amplitude of oscillation for each oscillator. One NEMS oscillator is driven and strongly damped and becomes a transducer for phonon number in the other measured oscillator. We derive the conditions for this measurement scheme to be quantum limited and find a condition on the size of the anharmonicity. We also derive the relation between th…
We propose a solid-state hybrid platform based on an array of implanted nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond magnetically coupled to a mechanical oscillator. The mechanical oscillator and the NV electronic spins both act as a quantum bus and allow us to induce an effective long-range interaction between distant nuclear spins, relaxing the requirements on their spatial distance. The coherent nuclear spin-spin interaction, having the form of an Ising model, can be maintained in the presence of mechanical damping and spin dephasing via a pulsed dynamical decoupling of the nuclear spins in add…
We introduce an optomechanical scheme for the probabilistic preparation of single-phonon Fock states of mechanical modes based on photo-subtraction. The quality of the produced mechanical state is confirmed by a number of indicators, including phonon statistics and conditional fidelity. We assess the detrimental effect of parameters such as the temperature of the mechanical system and address the feasibility of the scheme with state-of-the-art technology.
Precisely engineered mechanical oscillators keep time, filter signals, and sense motion, making them an indispensable part of today's technological landscape. These unique capabilities motivate bringing mechanical devices into the quantum domain by interfacing them with engineered quantum circuits. Proposals to combine microwave-frequency mechanical resonators with superconducting devices suggest the possibility of powerful quantum acoustic processors. Meanwhile, experiments in several mechanical systems have demonstrated quantum state control and readout, phonon number resolution, and phonon-…
The dissipative quantum dynamics of an anharmonic oscillator is investigated theoretically in the context of carbon-based nano-mechanical systems. In the short-time limit, it is known that macroscopic superposition states appear for such oscillators. In the long-time limit, single and multi-phonon dissipation lead to decoherence of the non-classical states. However, at zero temperature, as a result of two-phonon losses the quantum oscillator eventually evolves into a non-classical steady state. The relaxation of this state due to thermal excitations and one-phonon losses is numerically and ana…
Entanglement pre-thermalization (EP) is a quasi-stationary nonequilibrium state of a composite system in which each individual subsystem looks thermal but the entire system remains nonthermal due to quantum entanglement between subsystems. We theoretically study the dynamics of EP following a coherent split of a one-dimensional harmonic potential in which two interacting bosons are confined. This problem is equivalent to that of an interaction quench between two harmonic oscillators. We show that this simple model captures the bare essentials of EP; that is, each subsystem relaxes to an approx…
A candidate for a realistic relativistic quantum theory is the hypersurface Bohm-Dirac model. Its formulation uses a foliation of spacetime into space-like hypersurfaces. This structure may well arise from the universal wave function itself, entailing the relativistic character of the theory despite the appearance of a preferred foliation. However, to apply the theory and to make contact with the usual quantum formalism one needs a framework for the description of subsystems. The presence of spin together with the foliation renders the subsystem description more complicated as compared to the …
In this review, we briefly overview recent works on hybrid (nano) opto-mechanical systems that contain both mechanical oscillators and diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers. We review two different types of mechanical oscillators. The first one is a clamped mechanical oscillator, such as a cantilever, with a fixed frequency. The second one is an optically trapped nano-diamond with a build-in nitrogen-vacancy center. By coupling mechanical resonators with electron spins, we can use the spins to control the motion of mechanical oscillators. For the first setup, we discuss two different coupling …
This paper investigates the relationship between subsystems and time in a closed nonrelativistic system of interacting bosons and fermions. It is possible to write any state vector in such a system as an unentangled tensor product of subsystem vectors, and to do so in infinitely many ways. This requires the superposition of different numbers of particles, but the theory can describe in full the equivalence relation that leads to a particle-number superselection rule in conventionally defined subsystems. Time is defined as a functional of subsystem changes, thus eliminating the need for any ref…
The "problem of time" in present physics substantially consists in the fact that a straightforward quantization of the general relativistic evolution equation and constraints generates for the Universe wave function the Wheeler-De Witt equation, which describes a static Universe. Page and Wootters considered the fact that there exist states of a system composed by entangled subsystems that are stationary, but one can interpret the component subsystems as evolving: this leads them to suppose that the global state of the universe can be envisaged as one of this static entangled state, whereas th…
We investigate a total thermodynamic entropy production rate of an isolated quantum system. In particular, we consider a quantum model of coupled harmonic oscillators in a star configuration, where a central harmonic oscillator (system) is coupled to a finite number of surrounding harmonic oscillators (bath). In this model, when the initial state of the total system is given by the tensor product of the Gibbs states of the system and the bath, every harmonic oscillator is always in a Gibbs state with a time-dependent temperature. This enables us to define time-dependent thermodynamic entropy f…
The effect induced by an environment on a composite quantum system is studied. The model considers the composite system as comprised by a subsystem A coupled to a subsystem B which is also coupled to an external environment. We study all possible four combinations of subsystems A and B made up with a harmonic oscillator and an upside down oscillator. We analyzed the decoherence suffered by subsystem A due to an effective environment composed by subsystem B and the external reservoir. In all the cases we found that subsystem A decoheres even though it interacts with the environment only through…
We study the entanglement dynamics of two coupled mechanical oscillators, within a modulated optomechanical system. We find that, depending on the strength of the mechanical coupling, one could observe either a stationary or a dynamical behavior of the mechanical entanglement, which is extremely robust against the oscillator temperature. Moreover, we have shown that this entanglement dynamics is strongly related to the stability of the normal modes. Taking mechanical damping effects into account, an analytical expression corresponding to the critical mechanical coupling strength, where the tra…
It has been shown that it is theoretically possible for there to exist higher-order quantum processes in which the operations performed by separate parties cannot be ascribed a definite causal order. Some of these processes are believed to have a physical realization in standard quantum mechanics via coherent control of the times of the operations. A prominent example is the quantum SWITCH, which was recently demonstrated experimentally. However, the interpretation of such experiments as realizations of a process with indefinite causal structure as opposed to some form of simulation of such a …
In this work a general relativistic generalization of Bell inequality is suggested. Namely,it is proved that practically in any general relativistic metric there is a generalization of Bell inequality.It can be satisfied within theories of local (subluminal) hidden variables, but it cannot be satisfied in the general case within standard quantum mechanical formalism or within theories of nonlocal (superluminal) hidden variables. It is shown too that within theories of nonlocal hidden variables but not in the standard quantum mechanical formalism a paradox appears in the situation when one of t…
Quantum control of engineered mechanical oscillators can be achieved by coupling the oscillator to an auxiliary degree of freedom, provided that the coherent rate of energy exchange exceeds the decoherence rate of each of the two sub-systems. We achieve such quantum-coherent coupling between the mechanical and optical modes of a micro-optomechanical system. Simultaneously, the mechanical oscillator is cooled to an average occupancy of n = 1.7 \pm 0.1 motional quanta. Pulsed optical excitation reveals the exchange of energy between the optical light field and the micromechanical oscillator in t…
We analyze an optomechanical system that can be used to efficiently transfer a quantum state between an optical cavity and a distant mechanical oscillator coupled to a second optical cavity. We show that for a moderate mechanical Q-factor it is possible to achieve a transfer efficiency of $99.4\%$ by using adjustable cavity damping rates and destructive interference. We also show that the quantum mechanical oscillator can be used as a quantum memory device with an efficiency of $96\%$ employing a pulsed optomechanical coupling. Although the mechanical dissipation slightly decreases the efficie…
We report the confinement of an optomechanical micro-oscillator in a squeezed thermal state, obtained by parametric modulation of the optical spring. We propose and implement an experimental scheme based on parametric feedback control of the oscillator, which stabilizes the amplified quadrature while leaving the orthogonal one unaffected. This technique allows us to surpass the -3dB limit in the noise reduction, associated to parametric resonance, with a best experimental result of -7.4dB. In a moderately cooled system, our technique can be efficiently exploited to produce strong squeezing of …
Cooling the motion of a massive mechanical oscillator into its quantum ground state plays an essential role in observing macroscopic quantum effects in mechanical systems. Here we propose a measurement-based feedback cooling protocol in cavity magnomechanics that is able to cool the mechanical vibration mode of a macroscopic ferromagnet into its ground state. The mechanical mode couples to a magnon mode via a dispersive magnetostrictive interaction, and the latter further couples to a microwave cavity mode via the magnetic-dipole interaction. A feedback loop is introduced by measuring the ampl…
We consider a small partially reflecting vibrating mirror coupled dispersively to a single optical mode of a high finesse cavity. We show this arrangement can be used to implement quantum squeezing of the mechanically oscillating mirror.
Feasible setup for pulsed quantum non-demolition interaction between two distant mechanical oscillators through optical or microwave mediator is proposed. The proposal uses homodyne measurement of the mediator and feedforward control of the mechanical oscillators to reach the interaction. To verify quantum nature of the interaction, we investigate the Gaussian entanglement generated in the mechanical modes. We evaluate it under influence of mechanical bath and propagation loss for the mediator and propose ways to optimize the interaction. Finally, both currently available optomechanical and el…
We show that the interaction of a pulsed laser light with a mechanical oscillator through the radiation pressure results in an opto-mechanical entangled state in which the photon number is correlated with the oscillator position. Interestingly, the mechanical oscillator can be delocalized over a large range of positions when driven by an intense laser light. This provides a simple yet sensitive method to probe hypothetic post-quantum theories including an explicit wave function collapse model, like the Diosi and Penrose model. We propose an entanglement witness to reveal the quantum nature of …
We investigate a scheme that makes a quantum non-demolition measurement of the excitation level of a mesoscopic mechanical oscillator by utilizing the anharmonic coupling between two elastic beam bending modes. The non-linear coupling between the two modes shifts the resonant frequency of the readout oscillator proportionate to the excitation of the system oscillator. This frequency shift may be detected as a phase shift of the readout oscillation when driven on resonance. We show that in an appropriate regime this measurement approaches a quantum non-demolition measurement of the phonon numbe…
The conceptual setting of quantum mechanics is subject to an ongoing debate from its beginnings until now. The consequences of the apparent differences between quantum statistics and classical statistics range from the philosophical interpretations to practical issues as quantum computing. In this note we demonstrate how quantum mechanics can emerge from classical statistical systems. We discuss conditions and circumstances for this to happen. Quantum systems describe isolated subsystems of classical statistical systems with infinitely many states. While infinitely many classical observables "…
The problem of defining time (or phase) operator for three-dimensional harmonic oscillator has been analyzed. A new formula for this operator has been derived. The results have been used to demonstrate a possibility of representing quantum-mechanical time evolution in the framework of an extended Hilbert space structure. Physical interpretation of the extended structure has been discussed shortly, too.
We recycle Cruz et al.'s (Phys. Lett. A 369 (2007) 400) work on the classical and quantum position-dependent mass (PDM) oscillators. To elaborate on the ordering ambiguity, we properly amend some of the results reported in their work and discuss the classical and quantum mechanical correspondence for the PDM harmonic oscillators. We use a point canonical transformation and show that one unique quantum PDM oscillator Hamiltonian (consequently, one unique ordering-ambiguity parametric set j=l=-1/4 and k=-1/2) is obtained. To show that such a parametric set is not just a manifestation of the quan…
The quadrature distribution for the quantum damped oscillator is introduced in the framework of the formulation of quantum mechanics based on the tomography scheme. The probability distribution for the coherent and Fock states of the damped oscillator is expressed explicitly in terms of Gaussian and Hermite polynomials, correspondingly.
The Levi-Civita transformation is applied in the two-dimensional (2D) Dirac and Klein-Gordon (KG) equations with equal external scalar and vector potentials. The Coulomb and harmonic oscillator problems are connected via the Levi-Civita transformation. These connections lead to an approach to solve the Coulomb problems using the results of the harmonic oscillator potential in the above-mentioned relativistic systems.
The observation of quantum phenomena in macroscopic mechanical oscillators has been a subject of interest since the inception of quantum mechanics. Prerequisite to this regime are both preparation of the mechanical oscillator at low phonon occupancy and a measurement sensitivity at the scale of the spread of the oscillator's ground state wavefunction. It has been widely perceived that the most promising approach to address these two challenges are electro nanomechanical systems. Here we approach for the first time the quantum regime with a mechanical oscillator of mesoscopic dimensions--discer…
It is shown that Quantum Mechanics is ambiguous when predicting relative frequencies for an entangled system if the measurements of both subsystems are performed in spatially separated events. This ambiguity gives way to unphysical consequences: the projection rule could be applied in one or the other temporal(?) order of measurements (being non local in any case), but symmetry of the roles of both subsystems would be broken. An alternative theory is presented in which this ambiguity does not exist. Observable relative frequencies differ from those of orthodox Quantum Mechanics, and a {\it gen…
