Condensed Matter Seminar

Jack Harris
Yale University

Thursday, May 4, 2006
1:00 pm in SPL 52

Quantum radiation pressure effects in micromechanical optical cavities

Abstract: I will describe the goals of a project designed to study the quantum aspects of radiation pressure. By constructing optical cavities in which one mirror is supported on an ultrasensitive cantilever, we hope to observe the shot noise of the radiation pressure. This shot noise is a direct manifestation of the quantum fluctuations of light in the cavity. Its coupling to the cantilever's motion will allow us to explore quantum measurement and control of both optical and mechanical degrees of freedom. I will also describe our work so far, in which we have built a medium-finesse micromechanical optical cavity and observed a number of interesting classical effects, including laser cooling of the micromechanical device.