FLIP · Feedback Levitation on an Inverted Potential: A new tool for macroscopic quantum physics, sensing and information thermodynamics
Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2023-05-01 → 2025-06-30
- EU contribution
- €183,601
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Feedback Levitation on an Inverted Potential: A new tool for macroscopic quantum physics, sensing and information thermodynamics
Controlling mesoscopic objects in the quantum regime is essential for advancing sensing, thermodynamics, and macroscopic quantum physics. Optical levitation has enabled key progress but remains limited by heating due to light absorption. This restricts the use of many materials and prevents certain quantum experiments. The FLIP (Feedback Levitation on an Inverted Potential) project introduces a new approach that avoids optical confinement. By combining dark-field detection with active feedback control, it enables stable levitation and cooling without absorption. This makes it possible to control absorbing particles in high vacuum, such as those containing internal quantum degrees of freedom. The project builds on recent advances in feedback-based ground-state cooling and aims to establish a new class of quantum control using dark and therefore unstable optical potentials for detection. It will allow quantum experiments with internally cold particles in free fall, enable sensing in non-conservative potentials, and make it possible to use absorbing particles like NV-doped nanodiamonds in levitated setups. FLIP expands the range of systems that can be controlled in the quantum regime and provides new experimental platforms to study quantum states beyond the standard harmonic potential framework.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The control of levitated mesoscopic objects has developed into a flourishing field promising significant advances in sensing technologies, stochastic and quantum thermodynamics as well as macroscopic quantum physics. While optical levitation has already reached operation in the quantum regime, internal heating by absorption is a major challenge.With FLIP (Feedback Levitation on an Inverted Potential) we propose an original solution: dark field optical detection plus active feedback control provides position stabilization (without additional confining potential) and cooling to a close-to-pure quantum state without absorption. FLIP goes beyond the state of the art in several ways. It provides access to quantum control of absorbing objects in high vacuum (e.g. spin mechanics with NV-centers). It opens the door to large quantum superpositions via free-fall experiments with internally cold particles. It enables sensing and information thermodynamics with unstable potentials in the quantum regime.Following the recent demonstration of quantum limited position readout, real-time state reconstruction and feedback cooling to the ground state, it is the ideal time to develop levitation in the dark optical field. A controllable inverted potential for levitated particles is available in the host group, such that the project can be implemented from day zero and expanded towards a 3D dark quantum trap. Close collaboration with the Aspelmeyer group (partner group) and Prof. Kugi (ACIN) who jointly achieved feedback based ground state cooling will facilitate the implementation of FLIP.My expertise in FPGA-based optical feedback control puts me in a perfect position to implement FLIP. At the host group, I will expand my background in optomechanics, and quantum optics. Finally, continuing my research in information thermodynamics using FLIP, the proposed research will, if successful, sharpen my unique research profile and open fruitful research directions for my future career.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITAT WIEN · WienCoordinatorAustria
Links
- View on CORDIS
- DOI: 10.3030/101106514
- https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/documents/downloadPublic?documentIds=080166e5013434a8&appId=PPGMS
- https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/documents/downloadPublic?documentIds=080166e51c46bddd&appId=PPGMS
Data: CORDIS, © European Union