Yiwen Chu

Date

13 December 2023

Host

Atac Imamoglu

Title

Massive mechanical objects in the quantum regime

Abstract

One of the first model systems we encounter in quantum mechanics class is a mass on a spring. However, it has only recently become possible to observe a massive mechanical object exhibiting the quantum properties of a harmonic oscillator, such as zero-point fluctuations, energy quantization, or quantum superpositions. I will present our recent experiments on creating quantum states of a bulk acoustic wave resonator and observing the quantum ground state of a several hundred microgram mechanical mode. I will also discuss the applications of these systems in quantum information, quantum sensing, and explorations of fundamental physics.