Observing polarization patterns in the collective motion of nanomechanical arrays

TL;DR

This paper introduces a 2D array of coupled nanomechanical resonators with polarization degrees of freedom, enabling the study of polarization patterns and their dynamics in collective nanomechanical systems.

Contribution

It presents a novel platform of nanomechanical arrays that encode polarization, allowing direct optical imaging of polarization patterns and their evolution.

Findings

Demonstrated direct optical imaging of collective polarization patterns

Analyzed the evolution of polarization patterns with drive frequency

Introduced a new platform for studying polarization phenomena in nanomechanics

Abstract

In recent years, nanomechanics has evolved into a mature field, with wide-ranging impact from sensing applications to fundamental physics, and it has now reached a stage which enables the fabrication and study of ever more elaborate devices. This has led to the emergence of arrays of coupled nanomechanical resonators as a promising field of research, serving as model systems to study collective dynamical phenomena such as synchronization or topological transport. From a general point of view, the arrays investigated so far represent scalar fields on a lattice. Moving to a scenario where these could be extended to vector fields would unlock a whole host of conceptually interesting additional phenomena, including the physics of polarization patterns in wave fields and their associated topology. Here we introduce a new platform, a two-dimensional array of coupled nanomechanical pillar resonators, whose orthogonal vibration directions encode a mechanical polarization degree of freedom. We demonstrate direct optical imaging of the collective dynamics, enabling us to analyze the emerging polarization patterns and follow their evolution with drive frequency.