Master Equation for the Motion of a Polarizable Particle in a Multimode Cavity

TL;DR

This paper derives a quantum master equation describing the motion of polarizable particles in multimode cavities, providing a rigorous framework that aligns with previous semiclassical results and supports experimental efforts with massive molecules.

Contribution

It introduces a new quantum master equation for massive particles in multimode cavities, extending previous semiclassical models to a rigorous quantum treatment.

Findings

Friction and diffusion coefficients match semiclassical calculations.

Quantum treatment confirms feasibility for manipulating massive molecules.

Numerical assessments support experimental design in cavity optomechanics.

Abstract

We derive a master equation for the motion of a polarizable particle weakly interacting with one or several strongly pumped cavity modes. We focus here on massive particles with complex internal structure such as large molecules and clusters, for which we assume a linear scalar polarizability mediating the particle-light interaction. The predicted friction and diffusion coefficients are in good agreement with former semiclassical calculations for atoms and small molecules in weakly pumped cavities, while the current rigorous quantum treatment and numerical assessment sheds a light on the feasibility of experiments that aim at optically manipulating beams of massive molecules with multimode cavities.