Deterministic macroscopic quantum superpositions of motion via quadratic optomechanical coupling

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to generate macroscopic quantum superpositions in optomechanical systems using quadratic coupling, combining nonlinear interactions and cavity dissipation, with potential for experimental realization.

Contribution

The authors introduce a scheme leveraging quadratic optomechanical coupling to deterministically produce macroscopic quantum superpositions of mechanical motion.

Findings

Analytical and numerical evidence of superposition creation

Dependence of superpositions on initial mechanical states

Analysis of mechanical damping effects on quantum states

Abstract

We propose a scheme to prepare macroscopic quantum superpositions of motion in optomachanical nano- or micromechanical oscillators quadratically coupled to an intracavity field. The nonlinear optomechanical coupling leads to an effective degenerate three-wave mixing interaction between the mechanical and cavity modes. The quantum superpositions result from the combined effects of the interaction and cavity dissipation. We show analytically and confirm numerically that various deterministic quantum superpositions can be achieved, depending on initial mechanical state. The effect of mechanical damping is also studied in detail via the negativity of the Wigner function. The present scheme can be realized in various optomechanical systems with current technology.