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Stefano Zippilli

Publications and source records attributed to Stefano Zippilli.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

Multimode Gaussian steady state engineering in optomechanical systems with a squeezed reservoir

We investigate a theoretical protocol for the dissipative stabilization of mechanical quantum states in a multimode optomechanical system composed of multiple optical and mechanical modes. The scheme employs a single squeezed reservoir that drives one of the optical modes, while the remaining optical modes mediate an effective phonon-phonon interaction Hamiltonian. The interplay between these coherent interactions and the dissipation provided by the squeezed bath enables the steady-state preparation of targeted quantum states of the mechanical modes. In the absence of significant uncontrolled noise sources, the resulting dynamics closely approximate the model introduced in [Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 020402 (2021)]. We analyze the performance of this protocol in generating mechanical cluster states defined on rectangular graphs.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2025

Can gravity mediate the transmission of quantum information?

We propose an experiment to test the non-classicality of the gravitational interaction. We consider two optomechanical systems that are perfectly isolated, except for a weak gravitational coupling. If a suitable resonance condition is satisfied, an optical signal can be transmitted from one system to the other over a narrow frequency band, a phenomenon that we call gravitationally induced transparency. In this framework, the challenging problem of testing the quantum nature of gravity is mapped to the easier task of determining the non-classicality of the gravitationally-induced optical channel: If the optical channel is not entanglement-breaking, then gravity must have a quantum nature. This approach is applicable without making any assumption on the, currently unknown, correct model of gravity in the quantum regime. In the second part of this work, we model gravity as a quadratic Hamiltonian interaction (e.g. a weak Newtonian force), resulting in a Gaussian thermal attenuator channel between the two systems. Depending on the strength of thermal noise, the system presents a sharp transition from an entanglement-breaking to a non-classical channel capable not only of entanglement preservation but also of asymptotically perfect quantum communication.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2024

Optics-assisted enhanced sensing at radio-frequencies in an optoelectromechanical system

We investigate a scheme to enhance the sensitivity in detecting weak variations in a parameter of an optoelectromechanical system by detecting the system response at radio frequencies. We consider a setup, where either one or two mechanical modes mediate the interaction between an optical cavity and an rf resonator. This system can be operated in a regime of impedance matching where thermal fluctuations are redistributed among the system elements, and, in particular, rf output noise can be reduced to the quantum vacuum noise level. We show that this effect can be used to boost the sensitivity in detecting parameter variations also in regimes of high thermal noise. We characterize the performance of this protocol in detecting variations in the capacitance of the rf resonator.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2023

Enhancing strength and range of atom-atom interaction in a coupled-cavity array via parametric drives

Coherent long-range interactions between atoms are a prerequisite for numerous applications in the field of quantum information science, but they usually decrease exponentially with the increase in atomic separation. Here we present an appealing method to dramatically enhance the long-range atom-atom interaction mediated by a coupled-cavity array that is subjected to two-photon (parametric) drives. Our method allows one to greatly amplify both the localization length of the single-photon bound-state wavefunction and the effective atom-photon coupling strength, resulting in a significant improvement of photon-mediated coherent interaction between two distant atoms. Additionally, we illustrate this effect by analyzing how it facilitates the transfer of information and the creation of entanglement between the atoms.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2022

Dissipative stabilization of entangled qubit pairs in quantum arrays with a single localized dissipative channel

We study the dissipative stabilization of entangled states in arrays of quantum systems. Specifically, we are interested in the states of qubits (spin-1/2) which may or may not interact with one or more cavities (bosonic modes). In all cases only one element, either a cavity or a qubit, is lossy and irreversibly coupled to a reservoir. When the lossy element is a cavity, we consider a squeezed reservoir and only interactions which conserve the number of cavity excitations. Instead, when the lossy element is a qubit, pure decay and a properly selected structure of XY-interactions are taken into account. We show that in all cases, in the steady state, many pairs of distant, non-directly interacting qubits, which cover the whole array, can get entangled in a stationary way, by means of the interplay of dissipation and local interactions.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2022

Nonreciprocal conversion between radio-frequency and optical photons with an optoelectromechanical system

Nonreciprocal systems breaking time-reversal symmetry are essential tools in modern quantum technologies enabling the suppression of unwanted reflected signals or extraneous noise entering through detection ports. Here we propose a scheme enabling nonreciprocal conversion between optical and radio-frequency (rf) photons using exclusively optomechanical and electromechanical interactions. The nonreciprocal transmission is obtained by interference of two dissipative pathways of transmission between the two electromagnetic modes established through two distinct intermediate mechanical modes. In our protocol, we apply a bichromatic drive to the cavity mode and a single-tone drive to the rf resonator, and use the relative phase between the drive tones to obtain nonreciprocity. We show that perfect nonreciprocal transduction can be obtained in the limit of large cooperativity in both directions, from optical to rf and vice versa. We also study the transducer noise and show that mechanical thermal noise is always reflected back onto the isolated port. In the limit of large cooperativity, the input noise is instead transmitted in an unaltered way in the allowed direction; in particular one has only vacuum noise in the output rf port in the case of optical-to-rf conversion.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2022

Feedback-enabled Microwave Quantum Illumination

A simple feedback scheme can be used to operate efficiently a microwave-quantum-illumination device based on electro-optomechanical systems also in regimes in which excess dissipation would, otherwise, prevent to outperform the optimal classical illumination protocol with the same transmitted energy.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2020

Dissipative engineering of Gaussian entangled states in harmonic lattices with a single-site squeezed reservoir

We study the dissipative preparation of many-body entangled Gaussian states in bosonic lattice models which could be relevant for quantum technology applications. We assume minimal resources, represented by systems described by particle-conserving quadratic Hamiltonians, with a single localized squeezed reservoir. We show that in this way it is possible to prepare, in the steady state, the wide class of pure states which can be generated by applying a generic passive Gaussian transformation on a set of equally squeezed modes. This includes non-trivial multipartite entangled states such as cluster states suitable for measurement-based quantum computation.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2020

Optomechanical Stirling heat engine driven by feedback-controlled light

We propose and analyze a microscopic Stirling heat engine based on an optomechanical system. The working fluid is a single vibrational mode of a mechanical resonator, which interacts by radiation pressure with a feedback-controlled optical cavity. The cavity light is used to engineer the thermal reservoirs and to steer the resonator through a thermodynamic cycle. In particular, the feedback is used to properly modulate the light fluctuations inside the cavity and hence to realize efficient thermodynamic transformations with realistic optomechanical devices.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2019

Noise robustness of synchronization of two nanomechanical resonators coupled to the same cavity field

We study synchronization of a room temperature optomechanical system formed by two resonators coupled via radiation pressure to the same driven optical cavity mode. By using stochastic Langevin equations and effective slowly-varying amplitude equations, we explore the long-time dynamics of the system. We see that thermal noise can induce significant non-Gaussian dynamical properties, including the coexistence of multi-stable synchronized limit cycles and phase diffusion. Synchronization in this optomechanical system is very robust with respect to thermal noise: in fact, even though each oscillator phase progressively diffuses over the whole limit cycle, their phase difference is locked, and such a phase correlation remains strong in the presence of thermal noise.

physics.optics↗
arXiv2019

Optomechanical cooling with intracavity squeezed light

We analyze the performance of optomechanical cooling of a mechanical resonator in the presence of a degenerate optical parametric amplifier within the optomechanical cavity, which squeezes the cavity light. We demonstrate that this allows to significantly enhance the cooling efficiency via the coherent suppression of Stokes scattering. The enhanced cooling occurs also far from the resolved sideband regime, and we show that this cooling scheme can be more efficient than schemes realized by injecting a squeezed field into the optomechanical cavity.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2019

An optomechanical heat engine with feedback-controlled in-loop light

The dissipative properties of an optical cavity can be effectively controlled by placing it in a feedback loop where the light at the cavity output is detected and the corresponding signal is used to modulate the amplitude of a laser field which drives the cavity itself. Here we show that this effect can be exploited to improve the performance of an optomechanical heat engine which makes use of polariton excitations as working fluid. In particular we demonstrate that, by employing a positive feedback close to the instability threshold, it is possible to operate this engine also under parameters regimes which are not usable without feedback, and which may significantly ease the practical implementation of this device.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2018

Cavity optomechanics with feedback--controlled in--loop light

It has recently been shown [Rossi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 123603 (2017); ibid. 120, 073601 (2018)] that feedback--controlled in--loop light can be used to enhance the efficiency of optomechanical systems. We analyse the theoretical ground at the basis of this approach and explore its potentialities and limitations. We discuss the validity of the model, analyse the properties of in-loop cavities and we show how they can be used to observe coherent optomechanical oscillations also with weakly coupled system, improve the sideband cooling performance, and increase ponderomotive squeezing.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2018

Two-membrane cavity optomechanics

We study the optomechanical behaviour of a driven Fabry-P\'erot cavity containing two vibrating dielectric membranes. We characterize the cavity-mode frequency shift as a function of the two-membrane positions, and report a $\sim 2.47$ gain in the optomechanical coupling strength of the membrane relative motion with respect to the single membrane case. This is achieved when the two membranes are properly positioned to form an inner cavity which is resonant with the driving field. We also show that this two-membrane system has the capability to tune the single-photon optomechanical coupling on demand, and represents a promising platform for implementing cavity optomechanics with distinct oscillators. Such a configuration has the potential to enable cavity optomechanics in the strong single-photon coupling regime, and to study synchronization in optically linked mechanical resonators.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2017

Enhancing sideband cooling by feedback--controlled light

We realise a phase-sensitive closed-loop control scheme to engineer the fluctuations of the pump field which drives an optomechanical system, and show that the corresponding cooling dynamics can be significantly improved. In particular, operating in the counter-intuitive "anti-squashing" regime of positive feedback and increased field fluctuations, sideband cooling of a nanomechanical membrane within an optical cavity can be improved by 7.5~dB with respect to the case without feedback. Close to the quantum regime of reduced thermal noise, such feedback-controlled light would allow going well below the quantum backaction cooling limit.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2017

Normal--mode splitting in a weakly coupled optomechanical system

Normal--mode splitting is the most evident signature of strong coupling between two interacting subsystems. It occurs when two subsystems exchange energy between themselves faster than they dissipate it to the environment. Here we experimentally show that a weakly coupled optomechanical system at room temperature can manifest normal--mode splitting when the pump field fluctuations are anti-squashed by a phase-sensitive feedback loop operating close to its instability threshold. Under these conditions the optical cavity exhibits an effectively reduced decay rate, so that the system is effectively promoted to the strong coupling regime.

quant-ph↗