Bayesian inference and optimal estimation in levitated optomechanics

Light carries momentum and so, when something small deflects it, there is a recoil. From solar sails to laser tweezers, this is Newton's third law applied to light.

Using light in this way, to control nanoscale motion, is known as optomechanics, and applies the tools of light creation and manipulation to this new, mechanical frontier. There are demonstrations of cooling to the quantum mechanical ground-state, proposals for optomechanical transducers for quantum information processing, and ideas for quantum-enabled sensors with exquisite sensitivity.


We will use advanced statistical techniques to reconstruct position and trajectory information from available measurements in levitated optomechanical simulations and experiments. Hence, we shall approach the quantum-limited regime in a complementary way to on-going feedback cooling and cavity-mediated cooling elsewhere in this field.