Brillouin Quantum Optomechanics

Quantum mechanics is one of our most powerful theories of nature and describes much of our world with incredible accuracy. Our knowledge and understanding of quantum mechanics has given us great insight into the fundamental workings of the universe and also enabled humanity to develop paradigm-shifting technologies such as the laser and the electronic chips that now drive computers and smartphones. This fellowship aims to deepen our understanding and control of quantum mechanics by utilizing lasers to generate quantum states of sound. To pursue this goal, laser light and sound waves will be confined inside a microfabricated device in what's called a "whispering gallery mode". This type of wave propagation was first understood by Lord Rayleigh in 1878 following his observations in St Paul's cathedral of whispers making their way around the inner wall of the dome. Then, by cryogenically cooling the device to near absolute zero in temperature and using single photons of light, Dr Vanner and the members of his team will prepare such high-frequency sound waves in a quantum state. Such states may be used to experimentally implement a sound-based version of the infamous "Schrodinger's cat" thought experiment, and the techniques and new knowledge generated within this project provide significant potential to develop powerful new quantum-physics-enhanced technologies for the information-processing applications of the future.