Dynamical multistability in high-finesse micromechanical optical cavities

TL;DR

This paper investigates the complex nonlinear behavior of a high-finesse optical cavity with a flexible mirror, revealing multiple stable states due to phase-locking, and proposes applications in precise displacement measurements.

Contribution

It provides an analytical framework for understanding dynamical multistability in optomechanical cavities, including attractor mapping and thermally activated transitions.

Findings

Identification of multiple dynamical attractors due to phase-locking

Analytical approximation for attractor diagram in parameter space

Proposal for using multistability in small displacement measurements

Abstract

We analyze the nonlinear dynamics of a high-finesse optical cavity in which one mirror is mounted on a flexible mechanical element. We find that this system is governed by an array of dynamical attractors, which arise from phase-locking between the mechanical oscillations of the mirror and the ringing of the light intensity in the cavity. We describe an analytical approximation to map out the diagram of attractors in parameter space, derive the slow amplitude dynamics of the system, including thermally activated hopping between different attractors, and suggest a scheme for exploiting the dynamical multistability in the measurement of small displacements.