Quantum theory of laser noise in coherent-scattering levitated optomechanics
Abstract
State purity is a key resource for experimental tests of quantum mechanics with massive objects. Cavity cooling of a levitated nanoparticle via coherent scattering stands out as a strategy to prepare highly pure states of its roto-translational motion. In several cases, though, the performance of cooling by coherent scattering is limited by the classical fluctuations of the laser field. Here we present a quantum theory of coherent-scattering experiments which includes the effect of the laser amplitude and phase noise. We derive a master equation for the noise-averaged particle's dynamics, valid for both center-of-mass and rotational degrees of freedom, and quantify the cooling performance for different levels of noise in state-of-the-art experiments. We compute approximate analytical expressions for the laser-noise-induced heating rates and excess phonon number in both regimes of weak and strong optomechanical coupling. Moreover, our model can be applied to laser noise processes with generic power spectral densities and finite correlation times. This work offers a toolbox to quantify and optimize the state purity in coherent-scattering experiments, and opens new avenues towards the preparation of quantum states with levitated systems.
Related
- Squeezed light and coherent feedback enhanced multiparameter quantum estimation in a double-cavity optomechanics: steady and dynamical states
- Recoil-heating modulation in levitated optomechanics through optical wavefront shaping
- Quantum theory of electrically levitated nanoparticle-ion systems: Motional dynamics and sympathetic cooling
- A tutorial on quantum scattering theory and coupled-channel calculations of bimolecular collisions
- Langevin Theory of Non-Markovian Quantum Dynamics: Application to Delayed Coherent Feedback and the Laser Linewidth
BibTeX
@misc{candoli2026quantum,
title = {{Quantum theory of laser noise in coherent-scattering levitated optomechanics}},
author = {Davide Candoli and Andreu Riera-Campeny and Lorenzo Dania and Oscar Schmitt Kremer and Johannes Piotrowski and Jayadev Vijayan and Lukas Novotny and Martin Frimmer and Oriol Romero-Isart and Carlos Gonzalez-Ballestero},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.32368},
eprint = {2610.32368},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.32368},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Quantum theory of laser noise in coherent-scattering levitated optomechanics
AU - Davide Candoli
AU - Andreu Riera-Campeny
AU - Lorenzo Dania
AU - Oscar Schmitt Kremer
AU - Johannes Piotrowski
AU - Jayadev Vijayan
AU - Lukas Novotny
AU - Martin Frimmer
AU - Oriol Romero-Isart
AU - Carlos Gonzalez-Ballestero
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.32368
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.32368
AB - State purity is a key resource for experimental tests of quantum mechanics with massive objects. Cavity cooling of a levitated nanoparticle via coherent scattering stands out as a strategy to prepare highly pure states of its roto-translational motion. In several cases, though, the performance of cooling by coherent scattering is limited by the classical fluctuations of the laser field. Here we present a quantum theory of coherent-scattering experiments which includes the effect of the laser amplitude and phase noise. We derive a master equation for the noise-averaged particle's dynamics, valid for both center-of-mass and rotational degrees of freedom, and quantify the cooling performance for different levels of noise in state-of-the-art experiments. We compute approximate analytical expressions for the laser-noise-induced heating rates and excess phonon number in both regimes of weak and strong optomechanical coupling. Moreover, our model can be applied to laser noise processes with generic power spectral densities and finite correlation times. This work offers a toolbox to quantify and optimize the state purity in coherent-scattering experiments, and opens new avenues towards the preparation of quantum states with levitated systems.
ER -