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Published January 17, 2012 | Published
Journal Article Open

Observation of Quantum Motion of a Nanomechanical Resonator

Abstract

In this Letter we use resolved sideband laser cooling to cool a mesoscopic mechanical resonator to near its quantum ground state (phonon occupancy 2.6±0.2), and observe the motional sidebands generated on a second probe laser. Asymmetry in the sideband amplitudes provides a direct measure of the displacement noise power associated with quantum zero-point fluctuations of the nanomechanical resonator, and allows for an intrinsic calibration of the phonon occupation number.

Additional Information

© 2012 American Physical Society. Received 14 September 2011; published 17 January 2012. The authors would like to thank Aash Clerk, Markus Aspelmeyer, and Simon Gröblacher for their valuable input at various stages in this experiment. This work was supported by the DARPA/MTO ORCHID program through a grant from AFOSR, and the Kavli Nanoscience Institute at Caltech. JC and ASN gratefully acknowledge support from NSERC.

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