arXiv subjects

Jesse J. Slim

Publications and source records attributed to Jesse J. Slim.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Chiral thermal fluctuations and enhanced refrigeration in a nonreciprocal nanomechanical system

Understanding how the breaking of reciprocity influences thermal flows and microscopic thermodynamic processes such as refrigeration and energy conversion is of broad current interest. We report experimental measurements of thermal flows and refrigeration in nanomechanical resonator networks in which nonreciprocity is controlled through an optically-induced synthetic magnetic flux. Time-modulated optomechanical interactions allow controlled coupling, gauge fields, and refrigeration processes through nanomechanical frequency conversion. We quantify nonequilibrium heat flows between resonators coupled to dissipative baths of different occupation and image heat and effective temperature in networks through measuring correlations of fluctuations. Synthetic magnetism is shown to imprint chirality on thermal fluctuations in a loop of resonators, leading to pronounced chiral flows with different handedness in distinct frequency bands. We find that the heat flows in a non-equilibrium system are tuned by the synthetic magnetic flux, which redistributes energy in the thermal steady-state. Specifically, we illustrate how nonreciprocity enhances the refrigeration of a resonator in the strong coupling regime, reducing its temperature below the bound that applies to time-reversal symmetric networks. These results experimentally demonstrate the impact of nonreciprocity on thermodynamic machines, and provide new methods to characterize them at the microscopic level.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Practical Limits on Integrated Squeezers

Recent experiments have demonstrated the successful generation and detection of moderately squeezed vacuum states with integrated photonics. However, in order to benefit from the reduced noise of highly squeezed light, many different noise sources must be mitigated. Here, we quantify the fundamental limits these noise sources impose on squeezing measurements and find surprising generality across different platforms and designs. We combine these different limitations into a simple model that provides practical guidance for the design and benchmarking of next-generation integrated squeezed-light systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Programming nanomechanical computation with light

Looking at physical systems as computers allows us to regard physical properties, such as thermal noise, symmetry or topology, as unconventional resources for computation. However, harnessing these resources requires programming computational functionality through strong, controllable nonlinearities in the system. Here, we show that cavity optomechanical interactions allow laser-controlled computation with nanomechanical degrees of freedom. We demonstrate a set of basic digital logic gates with level restoration and controlled mechanical couplings as essential ingredients for arbitrary computing networks. Owing to the strong optomechanical nonlinearity and precise readout, the system operates close to thermal amplitudes, in the regime where thermodynamic stochasticity governs its behavior. This opens a new path for the realization of physical computing with controlled nonlinear resonators.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Strong nanomechanical Duffing nonlinearity and interactions induced through cavity optomechanics

Nonlinearity is a key resource in both classical and quantum signal processing. Nonlinear nanomechanical elements have found applications ranging from sensing to computing, while networks of nonlinear resonators, as well as nonlinearly coupled networks of linear resonators, constitute promising platforms for simulating complex dynamics. Here, we experimentally demonstrate an approach to realizing strong mechanical nonlinearity in nanomechanical resonators, fully controlled through optical laser drives. The mechanism exploits the nonlinearity of the radiation-pressure interaction in a cavity optomechanical system, which gives rise to a nonlinear optical spring effect. The resulting Duffing nonlinearity is conveniently tunable in strength via pump laser power, while its sign is controlled by laser detuning. Moreover, we demonstrate that the nonlinear optical spring mediates effective interactions between mechanical modes coupled to a common cavity, inducing tunable nonlinear interactions between them that impact spectral response and dynamics. These results establish cavity optomechanics as a versatile and in-situ reconfigurable platform for engineering nonlinear dynamics in resonators and networks.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Mechanically mediated optical-microwave quantum state transfer by feedback

State transfer between light and microwaves is a key challenge in quantum networks. Promising transducers use a mechanical intermediary that couples to both fields via radiation pressure. Such electro-optomechanical devices have achieved high efficiencies, yet require resolved-sideband cavities, and generally compromise in scalability and noise performance. Here, we relax this constraint by extending the protocol of Navarathna et al. that transfers optical quantum information onto a mechanical resonator using a broadband, sideband-unresolved cavity and feedback. Combining this with parametric mechanical-to-microwave conversion, we show that continuous optical-to-microwave quantum state transfer is possible using measurement-based feedback, while all-optical coherent feedback enables bidirectional transfer. To assess the transfer, we introduce the quantum transfer witness $\mathcal{W}_T$, which -- though similar to the input-referred added noise -- also identifies whether a channel is capable of both preserving Gaussian entanglement and outperforming classical transduction schemes. Finally, we show that quantum-compatible noise performance is within reach of current experimental capabilities. Our results unlock a new design space for electro-optomechanical transducers and strengthens their candidacy as scalable quantum links between distant nodes.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Post-processed estimation of quantum state trajectories

Weak quantum measurements enable real-time tracking and control of dynamical quantum systems, producing quantum trajectories -- evolutions of the quantum state of the system conditioned on measurement outcomes. For classical systems, the accuracy of trajectories can be improved by incorporating future information, a procedure known as smoothing. Here we apply this concept to quantum systems, generalising a formalism of quantum state smoothing for an observer monitoring a quantum system exposed to environmental decoherence, a scenario important for many quantum information protocols. This allows future data to be incorporated when reconstructing the trajectories of quantum states. We experimentally demonstrate that smoothing improves accuracy using a continuously measured nanomechanical resonator, showing that the method compensates for both gaps in the measurement record and inaccessible environments. We further observe a key predicted departure from classical smoothing: quantum noise renders the trajectories nondifferentiable. These results establish that future information can enhance quantum trajectory reconstruction, with potential applications across quantum sensing, control, and error correction.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Programmable Synthetic Magnetism and Chiral Edge States in Nano-Optomechanical Quantum Hall Networks

Artificial magnetic fields break time-reversal symmetry in engineered materials--also known as metamaterials, enabling robust, topological transport of neutral excitations, much like electronic conduction edge channels in the integer quantum Hall effect. We experimentally demonstrate the emergence of quantum-Hall-like chiral edge states in optomechanical resonator networks. Synthetic magnetic fields for phononic excitations are induced through laser drives, while cavity optomechanical control allows full reconfigurability of the effective metamaterial response of the networks, including programming of magnetic fluxes in multiple resonator plaquettes. By tuning the interplay between network connectivity and magnetic fields, we demonstrate both flux-sensitive and flux-insensitive localized mechanical states. Scaling up the system creates spectral features that are precursors to Hofstadter butterfly spectra. Site-resolved spectroscopy reveals edge-bulk separation, with stationary phononic distributions signaling chiral edge modes. We directly probe those edge modes in transport measurements to demonstrate a unidirectional acoustic channel. This work unlocks new ways of controlling topological phononic phases at the nanoscale with applications in noise management and information processing.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Optomechanical realization of the bosonic Kitaev-Majorana chain

The fermionic Kitaev chain is a canonical model featuring topological Majorana zero modes. We report the experimental realization of its bosonic analogue in a nano-optomechanical network where parametric interactions induce two-mode squeezing and beamsplitter coupling among the nanomechanical modes, equivalent to hopping and superconductor pairing in the fermionic case, respectively. We observe several extraordinary phenomena in the bosonic dynamics and transport, including quadrature-dependent chiral amplification, exponential scaling of the gain with system size, and strong sensitivity to boundary conditions. Controlling the interaction phases and amplitudes uncovers a rich dynamical phase diagram that links the observed phenomena to non-Hermitian topological phase transitions. Finally, we present an experimental demonstration of an exponentially enhanced response to a small perturbation as a consequence of non-Hermitian topology. These results represent the demonstration of a novel synthetic phase of matter whose bosonic dynamics do not have fermionic parallels, and establish a powerful system to study non-Hermitian topology and its applications in signal manipulation and sensing.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Quadrature nonreciprocity: unidirectional bosonic transmission without breaking time-reversal symmetry

Nonreciprocity means that the transmission of a signal depends on its direction of propagation. Despite vastly different platforms and underlying working principles, the realisations of nonreciprocal transport in linear, time-independent systems rely on Aharonov-Bohm interference among several pathways and require breaking time-reversal symmetry. Here we extend the notion of nonreciprocity to unidirectional bosonic transport in systems with a time-reversal symmetric Hamiltonian by exploiting interference between beamsplitter (excitation preserving) and two-mode-squeezing (excitation non-preserving) interactions. In contrast to standard nonreciprocity, this unidirectional transport manifests when the mode quadratures are resolved with respect to an external reference phase. Hence we dub this phenomenon quadrature nonreciprocity. First, we experimentally demonstrate it in the minimal system of two coupled nanomechanical modes orchestrated by optomechanical interactions. Next, we develop a theoretical framework to characterise the class of networks exhibiting quadrature nonreciprocity based on features of their particle-hole graphs. In addition to unidirectionality, these networks can exhibit an even-odd pairing between collective quadratures, which we confirm experimentally in a four-mode system, and an exponential end-to-end gain in the case of arrays of cavities. Our work opens up new avenues for signal routing and quantum-limited amplification in bosonic systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Non-Hermitian chiral phononics through optomechanically-induced squeezing

Imposing chirality on a physical system engenders unconventional energy flow and responses, such as the Aharonov-Bohm effect and the topological quantum Hall phase for electrons in a symmetry-breaking magnetic field. Recently, great interest has arisen in combining that principle with broken Hermiticity to explore novel topological phases and applications. Here, we report unique phononic states formed when combining the controlled breaking of time-reversal symmetry with non-Hermitian dynamics, both induced through time-modulated radiation pressure forces in small nano-optomechanical networks. We observe chiral energy flow among mechanical resonators in a synthetic dimension and Aharonov-Bohm tuning of their hybridised modes. Introducing particle-non-conserving squeezing interactions, we discover a non-Hermitian Aharonov-Bohm effect in ring-shaped networks in which mechanical quasiparticles experience parametric gain. The resulting nontrivial complex mode spectra indicate flux-tuning of squeezing, exceptional points, instabilities and unidirectional phononic amplification. This rich new phenomenology points the way to the exploration of new non-Hermitian topological bosonic phases and applications in sensing and transport that exploit spatiotemporal symmetry breaking.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Exact Rotating Wave Approximation

The Hamiltonian of a linearly driven two-level system, or qubit, in the standard rotating frame contains non-commuting terms that oscillate at twice the drive frequency, $ω$, rendering the task of analytically finding the qubit's time evolution nontrivial. The application of the rotating wave approximation (RWA), which is suitable only for drives whose amplitude, or envelope, $H_1(t)$, is small compared to $ω$ and varies slowly on the time scale of $1/ω$, yields a simple Hamiltonian that can be integrated relatively easily. We present a series of corrections to the RWA Hamiltonian in $1/ω$, resulting in an effective Hamiltonian whose time evolution is accurate also for time-dependent drive envelopes in the regime of strong driving, i.e., for $|H_1(t)| \lesssim ω$. By extending the Magnus expansion with the use of a Taylor series we introduce a method that we call the Magnus-Taylor expansion, which we use to derive a recurrence relation for computing the effective Hamiltonian. We then employ the same method to derive kick operators, which complete our theory for non-smooth drives. The time evolution generated by our kick operators and effective Hamiltonian, both of which depend explicitly on the envelope and its time derivatives, agrees with the exact time evolution at periodic points in time. For the leading Hamiltonian correction we obtain a term proportional to the first derivative of the envelope, which competes with the Bloch-Siegert shift.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Visualizing the motion of graphene nanodrums

Membranes of suspended two-dimensional materials show a large variability in mechanical properties, in part due to static and dynamic wrinkles. As a consequence, experiments typically show a multitude of nanomechanical resonance peaks, which makes an unambiguous identification of the vibrational modes difficult. Here, we probe the motion of graphene nanodrum resonators with spatial resolution using a phase-sensitive interferometer. By simultaneously visualizing the local phase and amplitude of the driven motion, we show that unexplained spectral features represent split degenerate modes. When taking these into account, the resonance frequencies up to the eighth vibrational mode agree with theory. The corresponding displacement profiles however, are remarkably different from theory, as small imperfections increasingly deform the nodal lines for the higher modes. The Brownian motion, which is used to calibrate the local displacement, exhibits a similar mode pattern. The experiments clarify the complicated dynamic behaviour of suspended two-dimensional materials, which is crucial for reproducible fabrication and applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗