Optical trapping of the transversal motion for an optically levitated mirror

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the experimental transversal optical trapping of a mirror using a torsional pendulum, showing that optical levitation can be achieved with minimal cavity setup, advancing the development of macroscopic quantum systems.

Contribution

It introduces the first experimental demonstration of transversal optical trapping of a mirror with a torsional pendulum, confirming the feasibility of simple optical levitation setups.

Findings

Transversal trapping of a mirror was successfully demonstrated.

Optical levitation can be achieved with only two aligned Fabry-Pérot cavities.

This work advances the potential for macroscopic quantum system realization.

Abstract

Optomechanical systems are suitable for elucidating quantum phenomena at the macroscopic scale in the sense of the mass scale. The systems should be well-isolated from the environment to avoid classical noises, which conceal quantum signals. Optical levitation is a promising way to isolate optomechanical systems from the environment. To realize optical levitation, all degrees of freedom need to be trapped. Until now, longitudinal trapping and rotational trapping of a mirror with optical radiation pressure have been studied in detail and validated with various experiments. However, less attention has been paid to the transversal trapping of a mirror. Herein, we report a pioneering result where we experimentally confirmed transversal trapping of a mirror of a Fabry-P\'erot cavity using a torsional pendulum. Through this demonstration, we experimentally proved that optical levitation is realizable with only two Fabry-P\'erot cavities that are aligned vertically. This work paves the way toward optical levitation and realizing a macroscopic quantum system.