Abstract

We consider theoretically a dielectric nanoparticle levitated in an optical ring trap inside a cavity and probed by an angular lattice, with all electromagnetic fields carrying orbital angular momentum. Analyzing the torsional motion of the particle about the cavity axis, we find that photon scattering from the trap beam plays an important role in the optomechanical system. First we show that the presence of the torque introduces an instability. Subsequently, we demonstrate that for bound motion near a stable equilibrium, varying the optical torque strength allows for tuning the linear optomechanical coupling. Finally, we indicate that the relative strengths of the linear and quadratic couplings can be detected directly by homodyning the cavity output. Our studies should be of interest to researchers exploring quantum mechanics using torsional optomechanics.

© 2017 Optical Society of America

Rotational cavity optomechanics

M. Bhattacharya
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 32(5) B55-B60 (2015)

Dynamics of a levitated microparticle in vacuum trapped by a perfect vortex beam: three-dimensional motion around a complex optical potential

Yoshihiko Arita, Mingzhou Chen, Ewan M. Wright, and Kishan Dholakia
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 34(6) C14-C19 (2017)

Parametric feedback cooling of levitated optomechanics in a parabolic mirror trap

Jamie Vovrosh, Muddassar Rashid, David Hempston, James Bateman, Mauro Paternostro, and Hendrik Ulbricht
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 34(7) 1421-1428 (2017)

Simulation of optomechanical interaction of levitated nanoparticle with photonic crystal micro cavity

Tadeáš Maňka, Martin Šiler, Vojtěch Liška, Pavel Zemánek, Mojmír Šerý, and Oto Brzobohatý
Opt. Express 32(5) 7185-7196 (2024)

Coupling librational and translational motion of a levitated nanoparticle in an optical cavity

Shengyan Liu, Tongcang Li, and Zhang-qi Yin
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 34(6) C8-C13 (2017)