Department of Applied Physics, and Ginzton Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
Nat Commun. 2017 Jul 5;8:15886. doi: 10.1038/ncomms15886.
A central goal of quantum optics is to generate large interactions between single photons so that one photon can strongly modify the state of another one. In cavity optomechanics, photons interact with the motional degrees of freedom of an optical resonator, for example, by imparting radiation pressure forces on a movable mirror or sensing minute fluctuations in the position of the mirror. Here, we show that the optical nonlinearity arising from these effects, typically too small to operate on single photons, can be sufficiently enhanced with feedback to generate large interactions between single photons. We propose a protocol that allows photons propagating in a waveguide to interact with each other through multiple bounces off an optomechanical system. The protocol is analysed by evolving the full many-body quantum state of the waveguide-coupled system, illustrating that large photon-photon interactions mediated by mechanical motion may be within experimental reach.
量子光学的一个核心目标是产生单光子之间的强相互作用，从而使一个光子能够强烈地改变另一个光子的状态。在腔光机械中，光子与光学谐振器的运动自由度相互作用，例如，通过对可移动反射镜施加辐射压力或感测反射镜位置的微小波动。在这里，我们表明，由于这些效应产生的光学非线性通常太小而无法作用于单个光子，但通过反馈可以得到充分增强，从而在单光子之间产生强相互作用。我们提出了一种方案，允许在波导中传播的光子通过多次反射与机械系统中的光机械系统相互作用。该方案通过演化波导耦合系统的全多体量子态进行分析，说明了由机械运动介导的大光子-光子相互作用可能在实验范围内。
