Andrew Jayich

Optomechanics is a diverse field where mechanical harmonic oscillators are coupled to an optical field via radiation pressure. The mechanical devices range from atom clouds and nanotubes up to the kilogram scale mirrors used in the LIGO observatories. The starting point for many interesting measurements begins with the mechanical device in its ground state, where it has less than a phonon worth of energy. In Jack Harris’s lab we are working to cool a mechanical membrane to its ground state. This talk will disscuss an optomechanical system where a high finesse cavity is coupled to a millimeter scale SiN membrane that is anchored to a He3 fridge at 400mK. We have laser cooled to an occupancy of about 15 phonons. Readout of lower occupancies is limited by shaking of elements in the fridge. Steps are being implmented to overcome this hurdle and reach the ground state.