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Chin. Phys. B, 2026, Vol. 35(5): 053701    DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/ae4b25
RAPID COMMUNICATION Prev  

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)
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
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.
Keywords:  levitated optomechanics      nonreciprocal coupling      laser cooling  
Received:  04 December 2025      Revised:  21 February 2026      Accepted manuscript online:  27 February 2026
PACS:  37.10.Vz (Mechanical effects of light on atoms, molecules, and ions)  
  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)  
Fund: 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).
Corresponding Authors:  Zhang-Qi Yin     E-mail:  zqyin@bit.edu.cn

Cite this article: 

Jialin Li(李佳霖), Guangyu Zhang(张光宇), and Zhang-Qi Yin(尹璋琦) Sympathetic cooling of levitated optomechanics through nonreciprocal coupling 2026 Chin. Phys. B 35 053701

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