Mainz 2026 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 43: Poster – Quantum Systems

Q 43.14: Poster

Wednesday, March 4, 2026, 17:00–19:00, Philo 2. OG

Feedback cooling scheme for small nanoparticles based on single-photon detection — •Luis Kunkel Garcia, Klaus Hornberger, and Henning Rudolph — University of Duisburg-Essen, Faculty of Physics, Lotharstraße 1, 47057 Duisburg, Germany

Recent experiments have demonstrated center-of-mass ground state cooling of optically levitated nanoparticles by combining efficient homodyne detection of the scattered light with feedback [1,2]. Here, we theoretically analyze a feedback cooling scheme based solely on the detection of individual scattered photons, which paves the way for ground state cooling in previously inaccessible mass regimes. The scheme involves a continuous measurement of photon counts, generating a state estimation, from which a stochastic feedback force is determined. Using realistic assumptions about the detection efficiency and dark count rates, we assess the lowest attainable temperature.

[1] Magrini et al., Real-time optimal quantum control of mechanical motion at room temperature, Nature 595, 373 (2021) [2] Tebbenjohanns et al., Quantum control of a nanoparticle optically levitated in cryogenic free space, Nature 595, 378 (2021)

Keywords: Levitated optomechanics; Feedback cooling; Nanoparticles