Nobuyuki Matsumoto

We investigated the quantum state of an optomechanical suspended mirror under continuous measurement and feedback control using Wiener filtering. We focus on the impact of the two-mode theory of suspended mirror on the quantum state, which is described by the pendulum and rotational modes. It is derived from the beam model coupled to the cavity light in the low-frequency regime, including the internal friction of the beam and the finite size effect of the mirror. We constructed a Wiener filter for the two-mode theory and predicted the quantum state by evaluating the conditional covariance matrix using Wiener filter analysis. The results demonstrate that multimode analysis may play an important role in generating the quantum squeezed state. We also point out the possibility that one-mode analysis can be a good approximation by choosing the range of the Fourier space in the Wiener filter analysis.

Pendulums have long been used as force sensors due to their ultimately low dissipation (high-quality factor) characteristic. They are widely used in the measurement of the gravitational constant, detection of gravitational waves, and determination of ultralight dark matter. Furthermore, it is expected that the quantum nature of gravity will be demonstrated by performing quantum control for macroscopic pendulums. Recently, we have demonstrated that quantum entanglement between two pendulums can be generated using an optical spring [D. Miki, N. Matsumoto, A. Matsumura, T. Shichijo, Y. Sugiyama, K. Yamamoto, and N. Yamamoto, arXiv:2210.13169 (2022)]; however, we have ignored that an optical spring can reduce the quality factor (Q-factor) by applying normal-mode splitting between the pendulum and rotational modes possessing relatively high dissipation. Herein, we analyze a system composed of a cylinder suspended using a beam (a suspended mirror, i.e., a pendulum) and an optical spring to consider normal-mode splitting. The reduction in Q-factor is determined only by the beam parameters: the ratio of the radius of the mirror to the length of the beam, and the ratio of the frequency of the rotational mode to the pendulum mode in the absence of cavity photons. In our analysis, we find that the reduction factor $4.38$ is reproduced, which is consistent with the experimental result in Matsumoto \textit{et al.} [N. Matsumoto, S. B. Catan$\tilde{\text{o } }$-Lopez, M. Sugawara, S. Suzuki, N. Abe, K. Komori, Y. Michimura, Y. Aso, and K. Edamatsu, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 071101 (2019)]. Our analysis shows that low dissipation (high quality) can be reached using an optical spring for the realistic pendulum system considering the rotational degree of freedom.

This study is aimed at investigating the feasibility of generating quantum entanglement between macroscopic mechanical mirrors in optomechanical systems while under continuous measurement and feedback control. We carefully derive a covariance matrix for mechanical mirrors in a steady state, employing the Kalman filtering problem with an assumed dominant cavity photon dissipation, such that the common and differential modes of the mirrors are squeezed by the action of measuring the output light beams. We demonstrate that entanglement between the mechanical mirrors is generated when the states of the common and differential modes are squeezed with high purity in an asymmetric manner. Our results also show that quantum entanglement between $7$ mg mirrors is achievable in the short term.

In quantum mechanics, measurement can be used to prepare a quantum state. This principle is applicable even for macroscopic objects, which may enable us to see classical-quantum transition. Here, we demonstrate conditional mechanical squeezing of a mg-scale suspended mirror (i.e. the center-of-mass mode of a pendulum) near quantum regimes, through continuous linear position measurement and quantum state prediction. The experiment involved the pendulum interacting with photon coherent fields in a detuned optical cavity, which creates an optical spring. Futhermore, the detuned cavity allows us to perform linear position measurement by direct photo-detection of the reflected light. We experimentally verify the conditional squeezing using the theory combining prediction and retrodiction based on the causal and anti-causal filters. As a result, the standard deviation of position and momentum are respectively given by 36 times the zero-point amplitude of position $q_{\rm zpf}$ and 89 times the zero-point amplitude of momentum $p_{\rm zpf}$. The squeezing level achieved is about 5 times closer to the zero-point motion, despite that the mass of the mechanical oscillator is approximately 7 orders of magnitude greater, compared to the previous study. Thus, our demonstration is the first step towards quantum control for massive objects whose mass-scale is high enough to measure gravitational interactions. Such quantum control will pave the way to test quantum mechanics using the center-of-mass mode of massive objects.