A macroscopic object passively cooled into its quantum ground state of motion: beyond single-mode cooling

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a passive cooling method that brings a macroscopic mechanical object close to its quantum ground state, enabling new experiments in quantum mechanics and thermodynamics beyond single-mode cooling.

Contribution

It introduces a passive cooling technique for macroscopic objects to near quantum ground state, surpassing previous single-mode cooling approaches.

Findings

Achieved cooling to 500 microKelvin with an average of 0.3 quanta in the fundamental mode

Observed complex interactions between the vibrational mode and the environment

Proposed potential for longer coherence times and new quantum experiments

Abstract

The building blocks of Nature, namely atoms and elementary particles, are described by quantum mechanics. This fundamental theory is the ground on which physicists have built their major mathematical models [1]. Today, the unique features of quantum objects have led to the advent of promising quantum technologies [2, 3]. However, the macroscopic world is manifestly classical, and the nature of the quantum-to-classical crossover remains one of the most challenging open question of Science to date. In this respect, moving objects play a specific role [4, 5]. Pioneering experiments over the last few years have begun exploring quantum behaviour of micron-sized mechanical systems,either by passively cooling single GHz modes, or by adapting laser cooling techniques developed in atomic physics to cool specific modes far below the temperature of their surroundings [6-11]. Here instead we describe a very different approach, passive cooling of a micromechanical system down to 500 microK, reducing the average number of quanta in the fundamental vibrational mode at 15 MHz to just 0.3 (with even lower values expected for higher harmonics); the challenge being to be still able to detect the motion without disturbing the system noticeably. With such an approach higher harmonics and the surrounding environment are also cooled, leading to potentially much longer mechanical coherence times, and enabling experiments questioning mechanical wave-function collapse [12], potentially from the gravitational background [13, 14], and quantum thermodynamics [15]. Beyond the average behaviour, here we also report on the fluctuations of the fundamental vibrational mode of the device in-equilibrium with the cryostat. These reveal a surprisingly complex interplay with the local environment and allow characteristics of two distinct thermodynamic baths to be probed.