Long-Axis Spinning of an Optically Levitated Particle: A Levitated Spinning Top
An elongated object can be rotated around one of its short axes, like a propeller, or around its long axis, like a spinning top. Using optically levitated nanoparticles, short-axis rotation and libration have been systematically investigated in several recent studies. Notably, short-axis rotational...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Physical review letters 2024-06, Vol.132 (25), p.253601, Article 253601 |
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Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | An elongated object can be rotated around one of its short axes, like a propeller, or around its long axis, like a spinning top. Using optically levitated nanoparticles, short-axis rotation and libration have been systematically investigated in several recent studies. Notably, short-axis rotational degrees of freedom have been cooled to millikelvin temperatures and driven into gigahertz rotational speeds. However, controlled long-axis spinning has so far remained an unrealized goal. Here, we demonstrate controlled long-axis spinning of an optically levitated nanodumbbell with spinning rates exceeding 1 GHz. We show that the damping rate in high vacuum can be as low as a few millihertz. Our results open up applications in inertial torque sensing and studies of rotational quantum interference. |
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ISSN: | 0031-9007 1079-7114 1079-7114 |
DOI: | 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.253601 |