Strong-coupling effects in dissipatively coupled optomechanical systems

Abstract

In this paper we study cavity optomechanical systems in which the position of a mechanical oscillator modulates both the resonance frequency (dispersive coupling) and the linewidth (dissipative coupling) of a cavity mode. Using a quantum noise approach we calculate the optical damping and the optically-induced frequency shift. We find that dissipatively coupled systems feature two parameter regions providing amplification and two parameter regions providing cooling. To investigate the strong-coupling regime, we solve the linearized equations of motion exactly and calculate the mechanical and optical spectra. In addition to signatures of normal-mode splitting that are similar to the case of purely dispersive coupling, the spectra contain a striking feature that we trace back to the Fano line shape of the force spectrum. Finally, we show that purely dissipative coupling can lead to optomechanically-induced transparency which will provide an experimentally convenient way to observe normal-mode splitting.