Quantum squeezing of a levitated nanomechanical oscillator.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 40966342.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/science.ady4652.
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Abstract
Manipulating the motion of macroscopic objects near their quantum mechanical uncertainties has been desired in diverse fields, including fundamental physics, sensing, and transducers. Despite progress in ground-state cooling of a levitated solid particle, realizing its nonclassical states has been elusive. Here, we demonstrate quantum squeezing of the motion of a single nanoparticle by rapidly varying its oscillation frequency. We reveal appreciable narrowing of the velocity variance to -4.9 ± 0.1 decibels of that of the ground state using free-expansion measurements. Our work shows that a levitated nanoparticle offers an ideal platform for studying nonclassical states of its motion and provides a route to developing applications in quantum sensing and exploring quantum mechanics at a macroscopic scale.