Wallace Lecture

Quantum optomechanics and quantum heat engines

Pierre Meystre

Department of Physics and College of Optical Sciences
University of Arizona

Quantum optomechanics offers considerable promise both in fundamental and in applied science, with the potential of gaining a deeper understanding of the quantum-classical transition, and also of developing sensors capable of probing extremely feeble forces, often with spatial resolution at atomic scales.

Its rapid development is the result of a convergence from two perspectives on the physical world. From the top down, ultra-sensitive micromechanical and nanomechanical detectors have become available utilizing the advanced materials and processing techniques of the semiconductor industry and nanoscience. And from the bottom-up perspective, quantum optics and atomic physics have yielded an exquisite understanding of the mechanical aspects of light-matter interaction, including how quantum mechanics limits the ultimate sensitivity of measurements and how measurement backaction can be harnessed to control quantum states of mechanical systems.

After a brief general introduction, the talk will discuss selected recent advances, including aspects of the dynamical stabilization of optomechanical systems in the classical and the quantum regimes and the development of quantum heat engines that may help address fundamental questions in quantum thermodynamics.