Amplified Optomechanical Transduction of Virtual Radiation Pressure

Phys Rev Lett. 2017 Aug 4;119(5):053601. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.053601. Epub 2017 Jul 31.

Abstract

Here we describe how, utilizing a time-dependent optomechanical interaction, a mechanical probe can provide an amplified measurement of the virtual photons dressing the quantum ground state of an ultrastrongly coupled light-matter system. We calculate the thermal noise tolerated by this measurement scheme and discuss an experimental setup in which it could be realized.