Ground-state cooling of multiple near-degenerate mechanical modes
Jin-Yu Liu, Wenjing Liu, Da Xu, Jia-Chen Shi, Haitan Xu, Qihuang Gong, Yun‐Feng Xiao
Abstract
We propose a general and experimentally feasible approach to realize simultaneous ground-state cooling of an arbitrary number of near-degenerate or even fully degenerate mechanical modes, overcoming the limit imposed by the formation of mechanical dark modes. Multiple optical modes are employed to provide different dissipation channels that prevent complete destructive interference of the cooling pathway, and thus eliminating the dark modes. The cooling rate and limit are explicitly specified, in which the distinguishability of the optical modes from the mechanical modes is found to be critical for an efficient cooling process. In a realistic multimode optomechanical system, ground-state cooling of all mechanical modes is demonstrated by sequentially introducing optical drives, proving the feasibility and scalability of the proposed scheme. The work may provide new insights in preparing and manipulating multiple quantum states in macroscopic systems.