We review the field of cavity optomechanics, which explores the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and nano- or micromechanical motion This review covers the basics of optical cavities and mechanical resonators, their mutual optomechanical interaction mediated by the radiation pressure force, the large variety of experimental systems which exhibit this interaction, optical measurements of mechanical motion, dynamical backaction amplification and cooling, nonlinear dynamics, multimode optomechanics, and proposals for future cavity quantum optomechanics experiments In addition, we describe the perspectives for fundamental quantum physics and for possible applications of optomechanical devices

Cavity Optomechanics

Interest in superconducting microresonators has grown dramatically over the past decade. Resonator performance has improved substantially through the use of improved geometries and materials as well as a better understanding of the underlying physics. These advances have led to the adoption of superconducting microresonators in a large number of low-temperature experiments and applications. This review outlines these developments, with particular attention given to the use of superconducting microresonators as detectors.

Superconducting Microresonators: Physics and Applications

The efficiency of the future devices for quantum information processing will be limited mostly by the finite decoherence rates of the individual qubits and quantum gates. Recently, substantial progress was achieved in enhancing the time within which a solid-state qubit demonstrates coherent dynamics. This progress is based mostly on a successful isolation of the qubits from external decoherence sources obtained by clever engineering. Under these conditions, the material-inherent sources of noise start to play a crucial role. In most cases, quantum devices are affected by noise decreasing with frequency, f, approximately as 1/f. According to the present point of view, such noise is due to material- and device-specific microscopic degrees of freedom interacting with quantum variables of the nanodevice. The simplest picture is that the environment that destroys the phase coherence of the device can be thought of as a system of two-state fluctuators, which experience random hops between their states. If the hopping times are distributed in a exponentially broad domain, the resulting fluctuations have a spectrum close to 1/f in a large frequency range. In this paper we review the current state of the theory of decoherence due to degrees of freedom producing 1/f noise. We discuss basic mechanisms of such noises in various nanodevices and then review several models describing the interaction of the noise sources with quantum devices. The main focus of the review is to analyze how the 1/f noise destroys their coherent operation. We start from individual qubits concentrating mostly on the devices based on superconductor circuits, and then discuss some special issues related to more complicated architectures. Finally, we consider several strategies for minimizing the noise-induced decoherence.

1 / f noise: Implications for solid-state quantum information

Numerical studies of amorphous Si show that the lowest 4% of vibrational modes are piane wave like (‘propagons’) and the highest 3% of modes are localized (‘locons’). The rest are neither piane wave like nor localized. We cali them ‘diffusons’. Since diffusons are by far the most numerous, we try to characterize them by calculating such properties as the wave-vector and polarization (which do not seem to be useful), ‘phase auotient’ (a measure of the change of vibrational phase between first-neighbour atoms), spadal polarization memory and diffusivity. Localized states are characterized by finding decay lengths, inverse participation ratios and coordination numbers of the participating atoms.

Diffusons, locons and propagons: Character of atomie yibrations in amorphous Si

Type-I clathrate compounds have attracted a great deal of interest in connection with the search for efficient thermoelectric materials. These compounds constitute networked cages consisting of nano-scale tetrakaidecahedrons (14 hedrons) and dodecahedrons (12 hedrons), in which the group 1 or 2 elements in the periodic table are encaged as the so-called rattling guest atom. It is remarkable that, though these compounds have crystalline cubic-structure, they exhibit glass-like phonon thermal conductivity over the whole temperature range depending on the states of rattling guest atoms in the tetrakaidecahedron. In addition, these compounds show unusual glass-like specific heats and THz-frequency phonon dynamics, providing a remarkable broad peak almost identical to those observed in topologically disordered amorphous materials or structural glasses, the so-called Boson peak. An efficient thermoelectric effect is realized in compounds showing these glass-like characteristics. This decade, a number of experimental works dealing with type-I clathrate compounds have been published. These are diffraction experiments, thermal and spectroscopic experiments in addition to those based on heat and electronic transport. These form the raw materials for this article based on advances this decade. The subject of this article involves interesting phenomena from the viewpoint of not only physics but also from the view point of the practical problem of elaborating efficient thermoelectric materials. This review presents a survey of a wide range of experimental investigations of type-I clathrate compounds, together with a review of theoretical interpretations of the peculiar thermal and dynamic properties observed in these materials.

/pdf/phonon-glass-electron-crystal-thermoelectric-clathrates-2jojtwpik8.pdf

Phonon-glass electron-crystal thermoelectric clathrates : Experiments and theory

This review covers a wide range of experimental and theoretical studies of two-level or tunnelling states in glasses. Emphasis is on fundamental physics rather than a detailed comparison of experiment and theory. Sections cover the static and dynamic properties of tunnelling states, their contribution to thermal properties and their response to weak and strong electric and acoustic fields, both steady state and pulsed. A section on metallic glasses focuses on the importance of electron tunnelling-state interactions, and a final section illustrates approaches to a microscopic description by means of selected examples.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0034-4885/50/12/003/pdf

W A Phillips

Papers

Two-level states in glasses