Cavity Optomechanical Sensing and Manipulation of an Atomic Persistent Current

Pardeep Kumar, Tushar Biswas, Kristian Feliz, Rina Kanamoto, M.-S. Chang, Anand K. Jha, and M. Bhattacharya

Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 113601 – Published 9 September 2021

Abstract

This theoretical work initiates contact between two frontier disciplines of physics, namely, atomic superfluid rotation and cavity optomechanics. It considers an annular Bose-Einstein condensate, which exhibits dissipationless flow and is a paradigm of rotational quantum physics, inside a cavity excited by optical fields carrying orbital angular momentum. It provides the first platform that can sense ring Bose-Einstein condensate rotation with minimal destruction, in situ and in real time, unlike demonstrated techniques, all of which involve fully destructive measurement. It also shows how light can actively manipulate rotating matter waves by optomechanically entangling persistent currents. Our work opens up a novel and useful direction in the sensing and manipulation of atomic superflow.

Received 11 February 2021
Accepted 28 July 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.113601

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Bose-Einstein condensates Optomechanics Quantum optics

Atomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

Pardeep Kumar ^1,*, Tushar Biswas¹, Kristian Feliz¹, Rina Kanamoto ², M.-S. Chang^3,4, Anand K. Jha⁵, and M. Bhattacharya¹

¹School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology, 84 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, New York 14623, USA
²Department of Physics, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan
³Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
⁴Department of Physics and Center for Quantum Technology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
⁵Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 208016, India