Explanation of the Observed Energy Exchange through the vacuum in Optomechanics

Abstract:In cavity optomechanics, the standard large-detuning regime is commonly described by retaining only the radiation-pressure interaction, while higher-order mirror--field interactions are assumed to be negligible. This approximation, however, fails to provide a microscopic explanation for the vacuum-mediated heat transfer observed between the mechanical membranes in the experiment of Fong, this http URL.,[Nature \textbf{576}, 243 (2019)], whose physical origin has remained under active debate. Here, using a fully quantum model, we show that the neglected higher-order optomechanical interactions naturally generate phonon-phonon coupling and quantitatively account for the observed energy exchange within the standard optomechanical framework. Building on this microscopic description, we further propose a protocol in which phonon-phonon interaction drives a cyclic process enabling net work extraction. Our results establish the fundamental role of higher-order optomechanical interactions and provide a microscopic framework for describing next-generation optomechanical experiments beyond the linear approximation.

arXiv:2609.24900 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2609.24900v1 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2609.24900 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

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