Lasers Levitate Glowing Nanodiamonds in a Vacuum in New Physics Experiment

Scientists have, for the very first time, managed to levitate individual nanodiamonds in a vacuum by using a laser. The new findings may create extremely sensitive instruments that could be used for sensing tiny forces and torques.

While other researchers have trapped other types of nanoparticles in vacuum, those were not optically active. The nanodiamonds, in contrast, can contain nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers that emit light and also have a spin quantum of one. This is actually the first step toward creating a "hybrid quantum system."

Nanodiamonds trapped at atmospheric pressure are continuously agitated by collisions with the air molecules around them. Trapping the diamonds in vacuum removes the effect of all these air molecules. This allows the scientists to exert mechanical control over the nanodiamonds, turning them into "little harmonic oscillators."

"We can measure the position of the diamonds in 3D and we create a feedback signal based on the position and velocity of the nanodiamond," said Levi Neukirch, lead author of the new study, in a news release. "This lets us actively damp its motion."

Because the nanodiamonds work as, essentially, nano-oscillators, any force will move them slightly. This means that they are capable of measuring very tiny forces. In addition, the nanodiamonds could potentially allow researchers to study something called a macroscopic Schrodinger Cat state, since the researchers can, in theory, generate a mechanical superposition of the entire diamond.

The researchers plan to continue their work with the aim of achieving levitated, optically active nanodiamonds that are not destroyed at low pressures.

The findings are published in the journal Nature Photonics.

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