Nanomechanical sensor resolving impulsive forces below its zero-point fluctuations
Skrabulis M, Sosa MC, Zambon NC, Militaru A, Rossi M, Frimmer M, Novotny L. 2026. Nanomechanical sensor resolving impulsive forces below its zero-point fluctuations. Physical Review Letters. 136(23), 233604.
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Author
Skrabulis, Martynas;
Sosa, Martin Colombano;
Zambon, Nicola Carlon;
Militaru, AndreiISTA;
Rossi, Massimiliano;
Frimmer, Martin;
Novotny, Lukas
Department
Abstract
The sensitivity of a mechanical transducer is ultimately limited by its inherent quantum fluctuations. Here, we use an optically levitated nanoparticle to measure impulsive forces smaller than the particle’s zero-point momentum uncertainty. Our approach relies on reversibly squeezing the levitated particle’s center-of-mass motion to coherently amplify the perturbation. We demonstrate an impulsive-force resolution as small as 6.9 keV/c, a value 0.6 dB below the sensor’s zero-point value.
Publishing Year
Date Published
2026-06-12
Journal Title
Physical Review Letters
Publisher
American Physical Society
Acknowledgement
We thank Oscar Schmitt Kremer for his help with the Kalman filter and the rest of our colleagues at the ETH Photonics Laboratory for fruitful discussions. This research has been supported by the Swiss SERI Quantum Initiative (Grants No. UeM019-2 and No. UeM029-3), the Swiss National Science Foundation (Grant No. 51NF40-160591), and the European Research Council (ERC) under the Grant Agreement No. [951234] (Q-Xtreme ERC-2020-SyG). M. C. S. acknowledges support through an SNSF Fellowship (Grant No. 224465).
Volume
136
Issue
23
Article Number
233604
ISSN
eISSN
IST-REx-ID
Cite this
Skrabulis M, Sosa MC, Zambon NC, et al. Nanomechanical sensor resolving impulsive forces below its zero-point fluctuations. Physical Review Letters. 2026;136(23). doi:10.1103/9wzm-3qyb
Skrabulis, M., Sosa, M. C., Zambon, N. C., Militaru, A., Rossi, M., Frimmer, M., & Novotny, L. (2026). Nanomechanical sensor resolving impulsive forces below its zero-point fluctuations. Physical Review Letters. American Physical Society. https://doi.org/10.1103/9wzm-3qyb
Skrabulis, Martynas, Martin Colombano Sosa, Nicola Carlon Zambon, Andrei Militaru, Massimiliano Rossi, Martin Frimmer, and Lukas Novotny. “Nanomechanical Sensor Resolving Impulsive Forces below Its Zero-Point Fluctuations.” Physical Review Letters. American Physical Society, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1103/9wzm-3qyb.
M. Skrabulis et al., “Nanomechanical sensor resolving impulsive forces below its zero-point fluctuations,” Physical Review Letters, vol. 136, no. 23. American Physical Society, 2026.
Skrabulis M, Sosa MC, Zambon NC, Militaru A, Rossi M, Frimmer M, Novotny L. 2026. Nanomechanical sensor resolving impulsive forces below its zero-point fluctuations. Physical Review Letters. 136(23), 233604.
Skrabulis, Martynas, et al. “Nanomechanical Sensor Resolving Impulsive Forces below Its Zero-Point Fluctuations.” Physical Review Letters, vol. 136, no. 23, 233604, American Physical Society, 2026, doi:10.1103/9wzm-3qyb.
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