On-demand assembly of optically-levitated nanoparticle arrays in vacuum

Abstract

Realizing a large-scale fully controllable quantum system is a challenging task in current physical research and has broad applications. Ultracold atom and molecule arrays in optical tweezers in vacuum have been used for quantum simulation, quantum metrology and quantum computing. Recently, quantum ground state cooling of the center-of-mass motion of a single optically levitated nanoparticle in vacuum was demonstrated, providing unprecedented opportunities for studying macroscopic quantum mechanics and precision measurements. In this work, we create a reconfigurable optically-levitated nanoparticle array in vacuum. Our optically-levitated nanoparticle array allows full control of individual nanoparticles to form an arbitrary pattern and detect their motion. As a concrete example, we choose two nanoparticles without rotation signals from an array to synthesize a nanodumbbell in-situ by merging them into one trap. The nanodumbbell synthesized in-situ can rotate beyond 1 GHz. Our work provides a new platform for studying macroscopic many-body physics.