Room temperature optomechanical squeezing

Quantum fluctuations of light impose a fundamental limit precision optical measurements, laser interferometric detection of gravitational waves (GWs), for example. Current generation GW detectors are limited by quantum noise and plan to improve their sensitivity by injecting squeezed states of light generated by non-linear optical materials. We present an alternative technology for producing squeeze states of light using the radiation pressure interaction of light with a mechanical oscillator. Such optomechanical (OM) squeezed light sources would be widely applicable for future precision measurements because their non-linearity is independent of the laser wavelength. Previously, OM squeezers were limited to cryogenic temperatures. I will present our recent measurement of squeezed light from an OM system at room temperature [1]. Operation of a quantum OM system at room temperature not only makes its integration into complex interferometers more feasible, it also provides a resource for exploring quantum light-matter interactions in a human-perceivable environment.

[1]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1812.09942