Single-photon optomechanics

Kjetil Børkje, University College of Southeast Norway

I will discuss ongoing work on cavity optomechanical systems, where electromagnetic radiation in a cavity interacts with the motion of nano- or microscale objects via radiation pressure. Such interactions have been exploited in order to bring mechanical systems into the quantum regime, but also in order to manipulate light or microwave radiation. Due to a small coupling constant, this has so far involved driving the cavity with a large number of photons. In this talk, I will discuss how single photons can be controlled or detected using optomechanical interactions. In particular, I will explore whether this is possible even if the system is not in the so-called strong coupling regime.

(The slides will be available here)