Optomechanics with two-phonon driving

• Published in: arXiv.org
• Main Authors: Levitan, B A, Metelmann, A, Clerk, A A
• Format: Paper Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 08.09.2016
• Subjects: Amplification; Optical communication; Opto-mechanics; Parametric amplifiers; Phonons; Physics - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics; Physics - Quantum Physics
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1605.09275

We consider the physics of an optomechanical cavity subject to coherent two-phonon driving, i.e. degenerate parametric amplification of the mechanical mode. We show that in such a system, the cavity mode can effectively "inherit" parametric driving from the mechanics, yielding phase-sensitive amplification and squeezing of optical signals reflected from the cavity. We also demonstrate how such a system can be used to perform single-quadrature detection of a near-resonant narrow-band force applied to the mechanics with extremely low added noise from the optics. The system also exhibits strong differences from a conventional degenerate parametric amplifier: in particular, the cavity spectral function can become negative, indicating a negative effective photon temperature.