Light-based technology has invaded every aspect of contemporary life in the decades since the laser was invented in the 1960s, from life-saving surgical procedures to high-speed internet via fiber optics.
Conventional lasers are used for everything from grocery scanning to eye surgery by controlling tiny light particles called photons. But a new area of quantum physics is developing where sound takes the place of light. Recently, researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the University of Rochester revealed a major development in the creation of “phonon laser” devices that control individual mechanical vibration particles instead of light particles.
The development of a “squeezed” phonon laser that offers previously unheard-of control at the nanoscale. This discovery may hold the key to solving the puzzles of quantum entanglement, gravity, and next-generation satellite-free navigation systems by reducing the intrinsic noise that besets quantum measurements.
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From Photons to Phonons: A New Coherence
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation is what the term “laser” stands for. This has meant manipulating photons for more than 60 years, but over the past 20 years, researchers have developed lasers that can manipulate phonons and other fundamental particles. Quantized units of sound or mechanical vibration are called phonons. More opportunities than with conventional lasers could arise from controlling these particles, such as utilizing special quantum characteristics like entanglement.
For around 20 years, scientists have been experimenting with phonon laser, but the main obstacle has been the system’s “noise” or fluctuations. Similar to how a laser pointer may appear to be a steady beam to the unaided eye but actually contains minute intensity changes, phonon laser are plagued by thermal noise, which obscures sensitive signals and makes correct reading challenging.
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The Science of ‘Squeezing’
Leading this study has been Nick Vamivakas, the Marie C. Wilson and Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Optical Physics at Rochester’s Institute of Optics. By employing optical tweezers to capture and lift a nanoparticle in a vacuum, Vamivakas and his associates first demonstrated a phonon laser in 2019. However, they had to get past the challenge of thermal noise to employ this technique for incredibly precise measurements.
By “squeezing” the phonon laser a quantum mechanical method that lowers uncertainty in one particle property by marginally raising it in another the researchers were able to do this. According to Vamivakas, “It can significantly reduce that phonon laser fluctuation by pushing and pulling on a phonon laser with light in the right way.” In particular, the team was able to bring the laser’s inherent thermal noise below acceptable bounds by squeezing or reducing it.
This noise reduction is a functional requirement for the applications Vamivakas envisions, not just a technological accomplishment. When noise is reduced, the phonon laser becomes an extremely sensitive sensor that can measure acceleration more precisely than methods that rely on radio frequency waves or photon lasers.
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Probing Gravity and the Quantum Divide
Investigating the connection between quantum mechanics and gravity is one of the most significant uses for this high-precision phonon laser. Gravity is still an anomaly in contemporary physics; it defies quantum principles at the microscopic level yet is explained by General Relativity on a cosmic scale.
A new lab for investigating this “gravity-quantum” gap is made possible by the compressed phonon laser precision. Researchers may use the laser to investigate how gravity interacts with items small enough to display quantum characteristics because it can lift and manipulate nanoparticles with high sensitivity. This could result in the “holy grail” for theoretical physicists the first empirical proof of how gravity behaves at the quantum level.
The Future of Navigation: Quantum Compasses
The practical consequences for navigation are revolutionary, going beyond theoretical physics. GPS is currently used for worldwide navigation, which necessitates a continuous line of sight to satellites in orbit. In high-interference zones, deep undersea, and underground, these transmissions are susceptible to jamming, spoofing, and signal loss.
According to Vamivakas, “quantum compasses” might be built on the phonon laser. These autonomous navigation systems measure changes in motion and gravity using ultra-sensitive accelerometers to precisely track a vehicle’s position. A compressed phonon laser may allow for “unjammable” navigation that doesn’t require external satellite input since it can measure acceleration more precisely than conventional sensors.
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A Legacy of Optics Innovation
The University of Rochester‘s Institute of Optics has a lengthy history of innovations, the most recent of which is the creation of the phonon laser. The Institute, which was established almost a century ago, is still a major center for photonics and quantum research and has given more than half of all optical degrees in the US.
The National Science Foundation provided funding for this cooperative endeavor. Kai Zhang, a PhD candidate in optics at URochester, Kewen Xiao, a postdoctoral researcher at RIT, and Mishkat Bhattacharya, an associate professor of physics at RIT, collaborated with Vamivakas on the paper.
The phonon laser is positioned to transition from a laboratory curiosity to a fundamental instrument of 21st-century technology as the team works to improve the stability and sensitivity of these devices. The future of physics is brimming with possibilities, whether it is guiding a submarine through the murky ocean’s depths or uncovering the quantum basis of spacetime. With other continuing efforts like metasurfaces for AR clarity and research into quantum tunneling, the University of Rochester is a top location to study and change the world via science.
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