---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '20840'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Probing the possibility of entanglement generation through gravity offers
a path to tackle the question of whether gravitational fields possess a quantum
mechanical nature. A potential realization necessitates systems with low-frequency
dynamics at an optimal mass scale, for which the microgram-to-milligram range
is a strong contender. Here, after refining a figure-of-merit for the problem,
we present a 1-milligram torsional pendulum operating at 18 Hz. We demonstrate
laser cooling its motion from room temperature to 240 microkelvins, surpassing
by over 20-fold the coldest motions attained for oscillators ranging from micrograms
to kilograms. We quantify and contrast the utility of the current approach with
other platforms. The achieved performance and large improvement potential highlight
milligram-scale torsional pendulums as a powerful platform for precision measurements
relevant to future studies at the quantum-gravity interface.
acknowledgement: We thank Gerard Higgins, Andrei Militaru, Nikolai Kiesel, and Markus
Aspelmeyer for useful discussions on the topic of the figure-of-merit. We thank
Teodor Strömberg for helping with the additional characterizations of the optical
lever noise. We thank Johannes Fink and Scott Waitukaitis for their helpful feedback
on the manuscript. This work was supported by Institute of Science and Technology
Austria and the European Research Council under Grant No. 101087907 (ERC CoG QuHAMP).
article_number: '80'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Sofya
full_name: Agafonova, Sofya
id: 09501ff6-dca7-11ea-a8ae-b3e0b9166e80
last_name: Agafonova
orcid: 0000-0003-0582-2946
- first_name: Pere
full_name: Rosello, Pere
last_name: Rosello
- first_name: Manuel
full_name: Mekonnen, Manuel
last_name: Mekonnen
- first_name: Onur
full_name: Hosten, Onur
id: 4C02D85E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Hosten
orcid: 0000-0002-2031-204X
citation:
ama: Agafonova S, Rosello P, Mekonnen M, Hosten O. One-milligram torsional pendulum
toward experiments at the quantum-gravity interface. Communications Physics.
2026;9. doi:10.1038/s42005-026-02514-w
apa: Agafonova, S., Rosello, P., Mekonnen, M., & Hosten, O. (2026). One-milligram
torsional pendulum toward experiments at the quantum-gravity interface. Communications
Physics. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-026-02514-w
chicago: Agafonova, Sofia, Pere Rosello, Manuel Mekonnen, and Onur Hosten. “One-Milligram
Torsional Pendulum toward Experiments at the Quantum-Gravity Interface.” Communications
Physics. Springer Nature, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-026-02514-w.
ieee: S. Agafonova, P. Rosello, M. Mekonnen, and O. Hosten, “One-milligram torsional
pendulum toward experiments at the quantum-gravity interface,” Communications
Physics, vol. 9. Springer Nature, 2026.
ista: Agafonova S, Rosello P, Mekonnen M, Hosten O. 2026. One-milligram torsional
pendulum toward experiments at the quantum-gravity interface. Communications Physics.
9, 80.
mla: Agafonova, Sofia, et al. “One-Milligram Torsional Pendulum toward Experiments
at the Quantum-Gravity Interface.” Communications Physics, vol. 9, 80,
Springer Nature, 2026, doi:10.1038/s42005-026-02514-w.
short: S. Agafonova, P. Rosello, M. Mekonnen, O. Hosten, Communications Physics
9 (2026).
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2025-12-21T11:39:04Z
date_published: 2026-03-04T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-06-10T08:36:06Z
day: '04'
ddc:
- '530'
department:
- _id: GradSch
- _id: OnHo
doi: 10.1038/s42005-026-02514-w
external_id:
arxiv:
- '2408.09445'
file:
- access_level: open_access
checksum: 62e2175e7e3ad49260ae6a7b4e0860a2
content_type: application/pdf
creator: dernst
date_created: 2026-03-16T10:07:46Z
date_updated: 2026-03-16T10:07:46Z
file_id: '21457'
file_name: 2026_CommunicationsPhysics_Agafonova.pdf
file_size: 1901772
relation: main_file
success: 1
file_date_updated: 2026-03-16T10:07:46Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 9'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '03'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: bdb2a702-d553-11ed-ba76-f12e3e5a3bc6
grant_number: '101087907'
name: 'A quantum hybrid of atoms and milligram-scale pendulums: towards gravitational
quantum mechanics'
publication: Communications Physics
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 2399-3650
publication_status: published
publisher: Springer Nature
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
record:
- id: '20842'
relation: research_data
status: public
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: One-milligram torsional pendulum toward experiments at the quantum-gravity
interface
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 9
year: '2026'
...
---
_id: '20842'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Probing the possibility of entanglement generation through gravity offers
a path to tackle the question of whether gravitational fields possess a quantum
mechanical nature. A potential realization necessitates systems with low-frequency
dynamics at an optimal mass scale, for which the microgram-to-milligram range
is a strong contender. Here, after refining a figure-of-merit for the problem,
we present a 1-milligram torsional pendulum operating at 18 Hz. We demonstrate
laser cooling its motion from room temperature to 240~microkelvins, surpassing
by over 20-fold the coldest motions attained for oscillators ranging from micrograms
to kilograms. We quantify and contrast the utility of the current approach with
other platforms. The achieved performance and large improvement potential highlight
milligram-scale torsional pendulums as a powerful platform for precision measurements
relevant to future studies at the quantum-gravity interface.
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Sofya
full_name: Agafonova, Sofya
id: 09501ff6-dca7-11ea-a8ae-b3e0b9166e80
last_name: Agafonova
orcid: 0000-0003-0582-2946
citation:
ama: 'Agafonova S. Research Data for: “One-milligram torsional pendulum toward experiments
at the quantum-gravity interface.” 2025. doi:10.15479/AT-ISTA-20842'
apa: 'Agafonova, S. (2025). Research Data for: “One-milligram torsional pendulum
toward experiments at the quantum-gravity interface.” Institute of Science and
Technology Austria. https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-20842'
chicago: 'Agafonova, Sofia. “Research Data for: ‘One-Milligram Torsional Pendulum
toward Experiments at the Quantum-Gravity Interface.’” Institute of Science and
Technology Austria, 2025. https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-20842.'
ieee: 'S. Agafonova, “Research Data for: ‘One-milligram torsional pendulum toward
experiments at the quantum-gravity interface.’” Institute of Science and Technology
Austria, 2025.'
ista: 'Agafonova S. 2025. Research Data for: ‘One-milligram torsional pendulum toward
experiments at the quantum-gravity interface’, Institute of Science and Technology
Austria, 10.15479/AT-ISTA-20842.'
mla: 'Agafonova, Sofia. Research Data for: “One-Milligram Torsional Pendulum
toward Experiments at the Quantum-Gravity Interface.” Institute of Science
and Technology Austria, 2025, doi:10.15479/AT-ISTA-20842.'
short: S. Agafonova, (2025).
contributor:
- first_name: Pere
last_name: Rosello
- first_name: Manuel
last_name: Mekonnen
- contributor_type: supervisor
first_name: Onur
id: 4C02D85E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Hosten
orcid: 0000-0002-2031-204X
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2025-12-21T14:23:50Z
date_published: 2025-12-22T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-06-10T08:36:07Z
day: '22'
department:
- _id: GradSch
- _id: OnHo
doi: 10.15479/AT-ISTA-20842
file:
- access_level: open_access
checksum: 7af34e4226a00cdcb7f154272050e217
content_type: application/x-zip-compressed
creator: sagafono
date_created: 2025-12-22T13:45:30Z
date_updated: 2025-12-22T13:45:30Z
file_id: '20854'
file_name: AllData.zip
file_size: 146656591
relation: main_file
success: 1
- access_level: open_access
checksum: 71806a2ef9fb26ad7b78e04c6754ee4e
content_type: application/x-zip-compressed
creator: sagafono
date_created: 2025-12-22T13:45:33Z
date_updated: 2025-12-22T13:45:33Z
file_id: '20855'
file_name: SourceData.zip
file_size: 93470129
relation: main_file
success: 1
- access_level: open_access
checksum: 08facd1b4a102f83e4d99d48a85b258d
content_type: text/plain
creator: sagafono
date_created: 2025-12-22T13:51:09Z
date_updated: 2025-12-22T13:51:09Z
file_id: '20856'
file_name: readme.txt
file_size: 461
relation: main_file
success: 1
file_date_updated: 2025-12-22T13:51:09Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
month: '12'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: bdb2a702-d553-11ed-ba76-f12e3e5a3bc6
grant_number: '101087907'
name: 'A quantum hybrid of atoms and milligram-scale pendulums: towards gravitational
quantum mechanics'
publisher: Institute of Science and Technology Austria
related_material:
record:
- id: '20840'
relation: used_in_publication
status: public
status: public
title: 'Research Data for: ''One-milligram torsional pendulum toward experiments at
the quantum-gravity interface'''
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: research_data
user_id: 68b8ca59-c5b3-11ee-8790-cd641c68093d
year: '2025'
...
---
APC_amount: 2933,65 EUR
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
_id: '14980'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Precision sensing and manipulation of milligram-scale mechanical oscillators
has attracted growing interest in the fields of table-top explorations of gravity
and tests of quantum mechanics at macroscopic scales. Torsional oscillators present
an opportunity in this regard due to their remarked isolation from environmental
noise. For torsional motion, an effective employment of optical cavities to enhance
optomechanical interactions—as already established for linear oscillators—so far
faced certain challenges. Here, we propose a concept for sensing and manipulating
torsional motion, where exclusively the torsional rotations of a pendulum are
mapped onto the path length of a single two-mirror optical cavity. The concept
inherently alleviates many limitations of previous approaches. A proof-of-principle
experiment is conducted with a rigidly controlled pendulum to explore the sensing
aspects of the concept and to identify practical limitations in a potential state-of-the
art setup. Based on this study, we anticipate development of precision torque
sensors utilizing torsional pendulums that can support sensitivities below 10−19Nm/√Hz,
while the motion of the pendulums are dominated by quantum radiation pressure
noise at sub-microwatts of incoming laser power. These developments will provide
horizons for experiments at the interface of quantum mechanics and gravity.
acknowledgement: "We thank Pere Rosselló for his contributions to the initial modeling
of the presented sensing technique. This work was supported by Institute of Science
and Technology Austria, and\r\nthe European Research Council under Grant No. 101087907
(ERC CoG QuHAMP)."
article_number: '013141'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Sofya
full_name: Agafonova, Sofya
id: 09501ff6-dca7-11ea-a8ae-b3e0b9166e80
last_name: Agafonova
orcid: 0000-0003-0582-2946
- first_name: Umang
full_name: Mishra, Umang
id: 4328fa4c-f128-11eb-9611-c107b0fe4d51
last_name: Mishra
- first_name: Fritz R
full_name: Diorico, Fritz R
id: 2E054C4C-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Diorico
orcid: 0000-0002-4947-8924
- first_name: Onur
full_name: Hosten, Onur
id: 4C02D85E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Hosten
orcid: 0000-0002-2031-204X
citation:
ama: Agafonova S, Mishra U, Diorico FR, Hosten O. Zigzag optical cavity for sensing
and controlling torsional motion. Physical Review Research. 2024;6(1).
doi:10.1103/physrevresearch.6.013141
apa: Agafonova, S., Mishra, U., Diorico, F. R., & Hosten, O. (2024). Zigzag
optical cavity for sensing and controlling torsional motion. Physical Review
Research. American Physical Society. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevresearch.6.013141
chicago: Agafonova, Sofya, Umang Mishra, Fritz R Diorico, and Onur Hosten. “Zigzag
Optical Cavity for Sensing and Controlling Torsional Motion.” Physical Review
Research. American Physical Society, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevresearch.6.013141.
ieee: S. Agafonova, U. Mishra, F. R. Diorico, and O. Hosten, “Zigzag optical cavity
for sensing and controlling torsional motion,” Physical Review Research,
vol. 6, no. 1. American Physical Society, 2024.
ista: Agafonova S, Mishra U, Diorico FR, Hosten O. 2024. Zigzag optical cavity for
sensing and controlling torsional motion. Physical Review Research. 6(1), 013141.
mla: Agafonova, Sofya, et al. “Zigzag Optical Cavity for Sensing and Controlling
Torsional Motion.” Physical Review Research, vol. 6, no. 1, 013141, American
Physical Society, 2024, doi:10.1103/physrevresearch.6.013141.
short: S. Agafonova, U. Mishra, F.R. Diorico, O. Hosten, Physical Review Research
6 (2024).
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2024-02-12T11:42:18Z
date_published: 2024-02-05T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-05-08T09:34:07Z
day: '05'
ddc:
- '530'
department:
- _id: OnHo
doi: 10.1103/physrevresearch.6.013141
external_id:
arxiv:
- '2306.12804'
file:
- access_level: open_access
checksum: 3a39ebffb24c1cc1dd0b547a726dc52d
content_type: application/pdf
creator: dernst
date_created: 2024-02-12T11:46:50Z
date_updated: 2024-02-12T11:46:50Z
file_id: '14981'
file_name: 2024_PhysicalRevResearch_Agafonova.pdf
file_size: 1437167
relation: main_file
success: 1
file_date_updated: 2024-02-12T11:46:50Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 6'
issue: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '02'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: bdb2a702-d553-11ed-ba76-f12e3e5a3bc6
grant_number: '101087907'
name: 'A quantum hybrid of atoms and milligram-scale pendulums: towards gravitational
quantum mechanics'
publication: Physical Review Research
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 2643-1564
publication_status: published
publisher: American Physical Society
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Zigzag optical cavity for sensing and controlling torsional motion
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 6
year: '2024'
...
---
OA_place: publisher
_id: '17225'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: "This thesis describes the development of an atom interferometer designed
to exploit the\r\nadvantages of utilizing quantum entanglement for enhanced precision
measurements beyond\r\nthe standard quantum limit. While the project remains ongoing,
significant progress has been\r\nmade.\r\nA key contribution of this work is the
development of Quantrol, an experimental control\r\nsystem leveraging the ARTIQ
framework. This software enables precise timing and control\r\nwithout requiring
prior knowledge of ARTIQ’s implementation details or coding experience.\r\nThe
interface offers user friendly visual comprehension of the experimental sequence
and\r\nextended capabilities, allowing researchers to scan variables with a simple
click of a mouse.\r\nThe main proposed project is to implement atom interferometric
sequence with squeezed input\r\nstates inside of a dipole trap generated by a
high finesse cavity. The presence of the dipole\r\ntrap allows one dimensional
atomic cloud split while maintaining relatively strong confinement\r\nin other
directions.\r\nWe are currently able to trap and cool 87Rb atoms to few micro
kelvin temperatures, load\r\nthem into the dipole trap and state prepare them
to be used for squeezing and interferometric\r\nsequence."
alternative_title:
- ISTA Thesis
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Vyacheslav
full_name: Li, Vyacheslav
id: 3A4FAA92-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Li
citation:
ama: Li V. Towards a quantum entanglement enhanced atom interferomter. 2024. doi:10.15479/at:ista:17225
apa: Li, V. (2024). Towards a quantum entanglement enhanced atom interferomter.
Institute of Science and Technology Austria. https://doi.org/10.15479/at:ista:17225
chicago: Li, Vyacheslav. “Towards a Quantum Entanglement Enhanced Atom Interferomter.”
Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2024. https://doi.org/10.15479/at:ista:17225.
ieee: V. Li, “Towards a quantum entanglement enhanced atom interferomter,” Institute
of Science and Technology Austria, 2024.
ista: Li V. 2024. Towards a quantum entanglement enhanced atom interferomter. Institute
of Science and Technology Austria.
mla: Li, Vyacheslav. Towards a Quantum Entanglement Enhanced Atom Interferomter.
Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2024, doi:10.15479/at:ista:17225.
short: V. Li, Towards a Quantum Entanglement Enhanced Atom Interferomter, Institute
of Science and Technology Austria, 2024.
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2024-07-11T09:46:48Z
date_published: 2024-07-11T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-04-07T12:42:28Z
day: '11'
ddc:
- '530'
degree_awarded: PhD
department:
- _id: GradSch
- _id: OnHo
doi: 10.15479/at:ista:17225
file:
- access_level: open_access
checksum: 15b2dbe8d2c9ed7ca5dd413827928077
content_type: application/pdf
creator: vli
date_created: 2024-07-11T10:26:22Z
date_updated: 2024-07-11T10:26:22Z
file_id: '17228'
file_name: PhD_Thesis_Vyacheslav_Li_no_signatures_PDFA.pdf
file_size: 6729761
relation: main_file
success: 1
- access_level: closed
checksum: 16e904a11d8d0ebb167cb654ddfc7fe5
content_type: application/x-zip-compressed
creator: vli
date_created: 2024-07-11T10:26:22Z
date_updated: 2024-07-11T10:26:22Z
file_id: '17229'
file_name: PhD Thesis Vyacheslav Li.zip
file_size: 9542859
relation: source_file
file_date_updated: 2024-07-11T10:26:22Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '07'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: '79'
project:
- _id: bdb2a702-d553-11ed-ba76-f12e3e5a3bc6
grant_number: '101087907'
name: 'A quantum hybrid of atoms and milligram-scale pendulums: towards gravitational
quantum mechanics'
publication_identifier:
issn:
- 2663-337X
publication_status: published
publisher: Institute of Science and Technology Austria
related_material:
record:
- id: '11438'
relation: part_of_dissertation
status: public
status: public
supervisor:
- first_name: Onur
full_name: Hosten, Onur
id: 4C02D85E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Hosten
orcid: 0000-0002-2031-204X
title: Towards a quantum entanglement enhanced atom interferomter
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by_nc_sa.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC
BY-NC-SA 4.0)
short: CC BY-NC-SA (4.0)
type: dissertation
user_id: ba8df636-2132-11f1-aed0-ed93e2281fdd
year: '2024'
...