Unifying Brillouin scattering and cavity optomechanics

TL;DR

This paper develops a unified theoretical framework linking Brillouin scattering and cavity optomechanics, revealing their deep connection and enabling cross-application insights across various physical systems.

Contribution

It derives the dynamics of optomechanical cavities from Brillouin-active waveguides, establishing a comprehensive theory connecting both fields and their phenomena.

Findings

Brillouin amplification and electromagnetically induced transparency are linked.

Traveling-wave effects have cavity counterparts, but not vice versa.

Unobserved effects like photon-assisted phonon amplification are feasible in current systems.

Abstract

So far, Brillouin scattering and cavity optomechanics were mostly disconnected branches of research -- although both deal with photon-phonon coupling. This begs for the development of a broader theory that contains both fields. Here, we derive the dynamics of optomechanical cavities from that of Brillouin-active waveguides. This explicit transition elucidates the link between phenomena such as Brillouin amplification and electromagnetically induced transparency. It proves that effects familiar from cavity optomechanics all have traveling-wave partners, but not vice versa. We reveal a close connection between two parameters of central importance in these fields: the Brillouin gain coefficient and the zero-point optomechanical coupling rate. This enables comparisons between systems as diverse as ultracold atom clouds, plasmonic Raman cavities and nanoscale silicon waveguides. In addition, back-of-the-envelope calculations show that unobserved effects, such as photon-assisted amplification of traveling phonons, are now accessible in existing systems. Finally, we formulate both circuit- and cavity-oriented optomechanics in terms of vacuum coupling rates, cooperativities and gain coefficients, thus reflecting the similarities in the underlying physics.