ÖPG-CMD Joint Meeting 2026

P061 - Towards a mechanical nonlinearity in the few-phonon regime based on the Casimir force

Sep 23, 2026, 1:30 PM

1h

RESOWI B+F (University of Graz)

1) Poster M29 - Nanomechanical, Electromechanical, Optomechanical and Levitated Systems Poster session

Speaker

Matthijs de Jong (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)

Description

Nanomechanical resonators have shown long lifetimes (Q > 10^9) and long coherence times, which makes them promising for quantum information applications as memories or transducers. However, their linear behaviour limits which quantum operations can be performed: An amplitude-dependent nonlinearity is necessary to realize a complete set of quantum gates. Recently, nanomechanical resonators have been shown to behave nonlinearly in the few-phonon regime by hybridizing to a superconducting qubit or double quantum dot in the strong or ultrastrong coupling regime. Here, I propose that the same could be achieved without coupling to any external quantum system via the Casimir force that exists between closely spaced objects.