Nanomechanical sensor resolving impulsive forces below its zero-point fluctuations

Martynas Skrabulis; Martin Colombano Sosa; Nicola Carlon Zambon; Andrei Militaru; Massimiliano Rossi; Martin Frimmer; Lukas Novotny

arXiv · 2601.19392

Nanomechanical sensor resolving impulsive forces below its zero-point fluctuations

Martynas Skrabulis·Martin Colombano Sosa·Nicola Carlon Zambon·Andrei Militaru·Massimiliano Rossi·Martin Frimmer·Lukas Novotny

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Abstract

The sensitivity of a mechanical transducer is ultimately limited by its inherent quantum fluctuations. Here, we use an optically levitated nanoparticle to measure impulsive forces smaller than the particle's zero-point momentum uncertainty. Our approach relies on reversibly squeezing the levitated particle's center-of-mass motion to coherently amplify the perturbation. We demonstrate resolving single impulsive-force kicks as small as 6.9 keV/c, a value 0.6 dB below the sensor's zero-point value.

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Martynas Skrabulis, Martin Colombano Sosa, Nicola Carlon Zambon, Andrei Militaru, Massimiliano Rossi, Martin Frimmer, Lukas Novotny. 2026-01-27. Nanomechanical sensor resolving impulsive forces below its zero-point fluctuations. https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.19392

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