Researchers at the Department of Physics and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute of the University of Basel have used the principle of coherent feedback to cool a quantum system for the first time.
Coherent feedback describes a situation in which two quantum systems interact with one another. As one of the systems acts as a control unit for the other, no measurement is needed. Instead, the control system is configured to bring the target system into a desired state by means of coherent quantum mechanical interaction.
The researchers used atoms as a quantum mechanical control system to control the temperature of a macroscopic but very thin vibrating membrane. This process first involves aligning the intrinsic angular momentum (spin) of the atoms in a well-defined direction, which corresponds to a very cold state close to absolute zero. In contrast, the high temperature of the membrane causes it to vibrate strongly. Quantum mechanical interaction allows the atoms and membrane to swap states, causing the membrane to become cold as its energy is transferred to the atoms. Subsequently, however, the atoms can quickly be returned to their initial state using laser light in preparation for another energy transfer from the membrane.
The researchers successfully used this coherent feedback mechanism to reduce the temperature of the oscillating membrane from room temperature to 200 millikelvins (-272.95°C) within a fraction of a millisecond. (University of Basel)
The results have been published in the journal Physical Review X.
