arXiv · 2304.02408
Ultra-high quality factor of a levitated nanomechanical oscillator
Abstract
A levitated nanomechanical oscillator under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) is highly isolated from its environment. It has been predicted that this isolation leads to very low mechanical dissipation rates. However, a gap persists between predictions and experimental data. Here, we levitate a silica nanoparticle in a linear Paul trap at room temperature, at pressures as low as $7\times10^{-11}$ mbar. We measure a dissipation rate of $2\pi\times69(22)$ nHz, corresponding to a quality factor exceeding $10^{10}$, more than two orders of magnitude higher than previously shown. A study of the pressure dependence of the particle's damping and heating rates provides insight into the relevant dissipation mechanisms.
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Lorenzo Dania, Dmitry S. Bykov, Florian Goschin, Markus Teller, Abderrahmane Kassid, Tracy E. Northup. 2023-04-05. Ultra-high quality factor of a levitated nanomechanical oscillator. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.132.133602
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