title: Experimental Realization of a Thermal Squeezed State of Levitated Optomechanics.
abstract: We experimentally squeeze the thermal motional state of an optically levitated nanosphere by fast switching between two trapping frequencies. The measured phase-space distribution of the center of mass of our particle shows the typical shape of a squeezed thermal state, from which we infer up to 2.7 dB of squeezing along one motional direction. In these experiments the average thermal occupancy is high and, even after squeezing, the motional state remains in the remit of classical statistical mechanics. Nevertheless, we argue that the manipulation scheme described here could be used to achieve squeezing in the quantum regime if preceded by cooling of the levitated mechanical oscillator. Additionally, a higher degree of squeezing could, in principle, be achieved by repeating the frequency-switching protocol multiple times.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Muddassar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rashid
authors.affiliation: School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Tommaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tufarelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.|Department of Physics, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bateman
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vovrosh
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hempston
authors.affiliation: QOLS, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Hendrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ulbricht