Speaker
Description
Matter-wave interferometry has recently been demonstrated for particles as massive as metal nanoclusters exceeding 170kDa. Extending this frontier into the 10-50MDa regime of dielectric or biological nanoparticles is now a compelling open challenge in quantum physics, aiming for the preparation of Schrödinger cat states at unprecedented mass scales. Future interferometry experiments in this regime require slow, mass-selected, cold nanoparticles. Recent breakthroughs in levitated optomechanics achieved cooling of trapped nanoparticles with 0.1-5GDa mass to their motional or librational quantum ground state using coherent scattering or feedback cooling. For particles with a radius of r = 10-30nm, conventional Rayleigh detection and feedback is challenging as it scales with polarizability and mass like $α^2$ (α ∝ m). Additionally, laser-induced heating of biological particles must also be minimized. We therefore study electric feedback cooling in an electrodynamical ion trap with interferometric readout (homodyne /heterodyne), which scales only linearly in polarizability and mass. We characterize the trapping of dielectric and biological nanoparticles in a Paul trap and their detection via a 532nm CW laser.