Mainz 2026 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 55: Optomechanics

Q 55.4: Vortrag

Donnerstag, 5. März 2026, 15:15–15:30, P 2

Amplification of optical forces via interference in levitated optomechanics — •Youssef Ezzo, Seyed Khalil Alavi, Ashik Pulikkathara, and Sungkun Hong — Institute for Functional Matter and Quantum Technologies and Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST), University of Stuttgart, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany

Precise tailoring of optical forces is fundamental to the control of levitated mesoscopic particles. While direct radiation pressure is typically the dominant mechanism, interference effects offer a powerful route to engineer light-matter interactions. In this work, we demonstrate the significant amplification of optical forces exerted by weak light fields through their interference with a strong trapping beam. By co-propagating a weak signal field with the optical tweezer, we exploit the interference term to generate an enhanced force that scales linearly with the signal field amplitude, rather than its intensity. We experimentally characterize this force enhancement using a silica nanoparticle, resolving the mechanical motion driven by weak fields with a sensitivity of 37.2 pW/Hz. We further discuss how this interference-based force scaling can be extended to counter-propagating geometries to maximize interaction strengths, enabling zeptowatt-level force control and efficient 3D all-optical cooling.

Keywords: Levitated optomechanics; optical trapping; photon detection; force sensing; optical interference