Optomechanical Systems for Fundamental Physics

Dear Colleagues,

Optomechanical systems represent an exceptional tool for sensing exquisitely weak effects, making them ideal for addressing numerous fundamental questions at the forefront of physics. The versatility of the light–matter interaction allows devising a wide spectrum of optomechanical devices, from atomic clouds and microscale sensors, to the large mirrors of LIGO, thus enabling tailored experiments to probe a vast range of physical phenomena, from the quantum-to-classical transition to gravitational wave physics.

Particularly interesting is the field of quantum optomechanics, where genuinely quantum features play a central role and the description of the system cannot be understood in purely classical terms. In this context, the coherent manipulation of the center-of-mass motion of massive resonators presents a series of opportunities to explore the foundations of physics in novel experimental regimes.  In the first instance, it paves the way toward the development of quantum sensors, where phase-sensitive schemes offer unprecedented sensitivities for the measurement of tiny signals, outperforming classical schemes. Secondly, by manipulating massive quantum systems, quantum optomechanics offers a path towards tests of the interface between quantum physics and gravity, a window on the quantum-to-classical transition, and an effective way to explore thermodynamics in the quantum regime—to name but a few applications.

This Special Edition aims to provide visibility to novel applications of optomechanical systems for fundamental applications, and it is open for submissions of unpublished, original research as well as comprehensive reviews on specific subfields.

Dr. Marko Toroš
Dr. Antonio Pontin
Dr. Alessio Belenchia
Guest Editors

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