中国物理B ›› 2026, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (5): 53701-053701.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/ae4b25

• • 上一篇    

Sympathetic cooling of levitated optomechanics through nonreciprocal coupling

Jialin Li(李佳霖), Guangyu Zhang(张光宇), and Zhang-Qi Yin(尹璋琦)   

  1. Center for Quantum Technology Research and Key Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Quantum Architecture and Measurements (MOE), School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
  • 收稿日期:2025-12-04 修回日期:2026-02-21 接受日期:2026-02-27 发布日期:2026-04-24
  • 通讯作者: Zhang-Qi Yin E-mail:zqyin@bit.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 12441502) and the Beijing Institute of Technology Research Fund Program (Grant No. 2024CX01015).

Sympathetic cooling of levitated optomechanics through nonreciprocal coupling

Jialin Li(李佳霖), Guangyu Zhang(张光宇), and Zhang-Qi Yin(尹璋琦)   

  1. Center for Quantum Technology Research and Key Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Quantum Architecture and Measurements (MOE), School of Physics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
  • Received:2025-12-04 Revised:2026-02-21 Accepted:2026-02-27 Published:2026-04-24
  • Contact: Zhang-Qi Yin E-mail:zqyin@bit.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 12441502) and the Beijing Institute of Technology Research Fund Program (Grant No. 2024CX01015).

摘要: Optomechanical cooling of levitated nanoparticles has become an essential topic in modern quantum physics, providing a platform for exploring macroscopic quantum phenomena and high-precision sensing. However, conventional cavity-assisted cooling is fundamentally constrained by cavity dissipation and environmental noise, limiting the attainable minimum temperature. In this work, we propose a non-Hermitian optomechanical cooling scheme through nonreciprocal coupling between two levitated nanoparticles, where one particle is directly cooled by an optical cavity and the other is cooled indirectly through a non-Hermitian interaction. Both analytical solutions and numerical simulations reveal that increasing nonreciprocity enhances directional energy transfer, enabling the target particle to reach a lower phonon occupation than is achievable in conventional cavity cooling. Theoretically, the nonreciprocal coupling scheme achieves a reduction in the steady-state phonon occupation number of the target particle by approximately 80% compared to the conventional cavity cooling limit. This study demonstrates a new cooling mechanism driven by non-Hermitian interactions, offering theoretical guidance for realizing controllable energy flow and deep cooling in levitated optomechanical systems and paving the way for future developments in quantum control and sensing technologies.

关键词: levitated optomechanics, nonreciprocal coupling, laser cooling

Abstract: Optomechanical cooling of levitated nanoparticles has become an essential topic in modern quantum physics, providing a platform for exploring macroscopic quantum phenomena and high-precision sensing. However, conventional cavity-assisted cooling is fundamentally constrained by cavity dissipation and environmental noise, limiting the attainable minimum temperature. In this work, we propose a non-Hermitian optomechanical cooling scheme through nonreciprocal coupling between two levitated nanoparticles, where one particle is directly cooled by an optical cavity and the other is cooled indirectly through a non-Hermitian interaction. Both analytical solutions and numerical simulations reveal that increasing nonreciprocity enhances directional energy transfer, enabling the target particle to reach a lower phonon occupation than is achievable in conventional cavity cooling. Theoretically, the nonreciprocal coupling scheme achieves a reduction in the steady-state phonon occupation number of the target particle by approximately 80% compared to the conventional cavity cooling limit. This study demonstrates a new cooling mechanism driven by non-Hermitian interactions, offering theoretical guidance for realizing controllable energy flow and deep cooling in levitated optomechanical systems and paving the way for future developments in quantum control and sensing technologies.

Key words: levitated optomechanics, nonreciprocal coupling, laser cooling

中图分类号:  (Mechanical effects of light on atoms, molecules, and ions)

  • 37.10.Vz
87.80.Cc (Optical trapping) 42.50.Wk (Mechanical effects of light on material media, microstructures and particles) 42.50.Ct (Quantum description of interaction of light and matter; related experiments)