Abstract

In optomechanical systems mechanical degrees of freedom are coupled to modes of the electromagnetic field inside optical or microwave resonators. Work in this area is largely motivated by building more sensitive mass and force sensors, providing long-range interaction between qubits in quantum information hardware, and probing quantum mechanics at increasingly large mass and length scales [see recent reviews, e.g. Physics Today 65, 29 (2012)].

In most setups the position of the mechanical oscillator linearly modulates the cavity frequency. Several experiments are approaching the limit where the radiation pressure of a single photon displaces the mechanical oscillator by more than its zero-point uncertainty. I will show that this system exhibits photon-blockade physics and how this leads to non-Gaussian mechanical states and non-classical states of light [PRL 107, 063602 (2011)].

I will then discuss optomechanical systems where the position of the mechanical oscillator modulates the cavity line width rather than its frequency. Quantum noise interference leads to a Fano line shape in the force spectrum. Finally, I will outline some implications for sideband cooling and the strong-coupling regime [arXiv:1211.7029].