Ultralow mechanical damping with Meissner-levitated ferromagnetic microparticles

Abstract

Levitated nanoparticles and microparticles are excellent candidates for the realization of extremely isolated mechanical systems, with a huge potential impact in sensing applications and in quantum physics. Magnetic levitation based on static fields is a particularly interesting approach, due to the unique property of being completely passive and compatible with low temperatures. Here, we show experimentally that micromagnets levitated above type-I superconductors feature very low damping at low frequency and low temperature. In our experiment, we detect 5 out of 6 rigid-body mechanical modes of a levitated ferromagnetic microsphere, using a dc SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device) with a single pick-up coil. The measured frequencies are in agreement with a finite element simulation based on ideal Meissner effect. For two specific modes we find further substantial agreement with analytical predictions based on the image method. We measure damping times $\tau$ exceeding $10^4$ s and quality factors $Q$ beyond $10^7$, improving by $2-3$ orders of magnitude over previous experiments based on the same principle. We investigate the possible residual loss mechanisms besides gas collisions, and argue that much longer damping time can be achieved with further effort and optimization. Our results open the way towards the development of ultrasensitive magnetomechanical sensors with potential applications to magnetometry and gravimetry, as well as to fundamental and quantum physics.

arXiv comment13 pages, 8 figures

References in corpus (31)

• Cavity Optomechanics
• Sideband Cooling Micromechanical Motion to the Quantum Ground State
• A Mechanical Mass Sensor with Yoctogram Resolution
• Towards quantum superpositions of a mirror
• Ultra-high sensitivity magnetic field and magnetization measurements with an atomic magnetometer
• Sub-Kelvin Parametric Feedback Cooling of a Laser-Trapped Nanoparticle
• Cavity optomechanics using an optically levitated nanosphere
• Zeptonewton force sensing with nanospheres in an optical lattice
• Torsional optomechanics of a levitated nonspherical nanoparticle
• Continuous Force and Displacement Measurement Below the Standard Quantum Limit
• Force and acceleration sensing with optically levitated nanogram masses at microkelvin temperatures
• Upper bounds on spontaneous wave-function collapse models using millikelvin-cooled nanocantilevers
• Force sensing with an optically levitated charged nanoparticle
• Quantum limits to the energy resolution of magnetic field sensors
• Improved noninterferometric test of collapse models using ultracold cantilevers
• On-chip quantum interference of a superconducting microsphere
• Quantum Magnetomechanics with Levitating Superconducting Microspheres
• A micromechanical proof-of-principle experiment for measuring the gravitational force of milligram masses
• Single-Spin Magnetomechanics with Levitated Micromagnets
• Acceleration sensing with magnetically levitated oscillators above a superconductor
• Room temperature test of the Continuous Spontaneous Localization model using a levitated micro-oscillator
• Precession Motion in Levitated Optomechanics
• Cooling the Motion of a Silica Microsphere in a Magneto-Gravitational Trap in Ultra-High Vacuum
• A Precessing Ferromagnetic Needle Magnetometer
• Gas damping force noise on a macroscopic test body in an infinite gas reservoir
• Quantum Acoustomechanics with a Micromagnet
• Testing collapse models with levitated nanoparticles: the detection challenge
• Ultrasensitive Inertial and Force Sensors with Diamagnetically Levitated Magnets
• Dynamics of a Ferromagnetic Particle Levitated Over a Superconductor
• Spin-mechanics with levitating ferromagnetic particles
• The QUAX-g_p g_s experiment to search for monopole-dipole Axion interaction

Cited by in corpus (51)

• Levitodynamics: Levitation and control of microscopic objects in vacuum
• Mesoscopic physics of nanomechanical systems
• Searching for new physics using optically levitated sensors
• Search for composite dark matter with optically levitated sensors
• Quantum rotations of nanoparticles
• Narrowing the parameter space of collapse models with ultracold layered force sensors
• Enhanced tripartite interactions in spin-magnon-mechanical hybrid systems
• Testing the foundations of quantum physics in space Interferometric and non-interferometric tests with Large Particles
• High-Q magnetic levitation and control of superconducting microspheres at millikelvin temperatures
• Ultra-high quality factor of a levitated nanomechanical oscillator
• Quantum experiments with microscale particles
• Gravity Probe Spin: Prospects for measuring general-relativistic precession of intrinsic spin using a ferromagnetic gyroscope
• Mechanical dissipation below 1$\mu$Hz with a cryogenic diamagnetic-levitated micro-oscillator
• Spin-mechanics with nitrogen-vacancy centers and trapped particles
• Superconducting microsphere magnetically levitated in an anharmonic potential with integrated magnetic readout
• Surpassing the Energy Resolution Limit with ferromagnetic torque sensors
• Levitated Optomechanics with Meta-Atoms
• Ferromagnetic Gyroscopes for Tests of Fundamental Physics
• Single-domain Bose condensate magnetometer achieves energy resolution per bandwidth below $\hslash$
• Ground-State Cooling of Levitated Magnets in Low-Frequency Traps
• Dark Matter Searches with Levitated Sensors
• Chip-based superconducting traps for levitation of micrometer-sized particles in the Meissner state
• Ultralight dark matter detection with levitated ferromagnets
• Testing Dissipative Collapse Models with a Levitated Micromagnet
• Stroboscopic high-order nonlinearity for quantum optomechanics
• Levitation of superconducting micro-rings for quantum magnetomechanics
• A chip-based superconducting magnetic trap for levitating superconducting microparticles
• Optimal quantum parametric feedback cooling
• Zel'dovich amplification in a superconducting circuit
• Enhanced spin-mechanical interaction with levitated micromagnets
• Optical signatures of the coupled spin-mechanics of a levitated magnetic microparticle
• First Search for Ultralight Dark Matter Using a Magnetically Levitated Particle
• Stability of a Magnetically Levitated Nanomagnet in Vacuum: Effects of Gas and Magnetization Damping
• Remote sensing of a levitated superconductor with a flux-tunable microwave cavity
• Optically Hyperpolarized Materials for Levitated Optomechanics
• Stable magnetic levitation of soft ferromagnets for macroscopic quantum mechanics
• Linear cooling of a levitated micromagnetic cylinder by vibration
• Characterisation of a levitated sub-mg ferromagnetic cube in a planar alternating-current magnetic Paul trap
• Probing rotational decoherence with a trapped-ion planar rotor
• Modelling magnetically-levitated superconducting ellipsoids, cylinders and cuboids for quantum magnetomechanics
• Mechanical Sensors for Ultraheavy Dark Matter Searches via Long-range Forces
• Roto-translational optomechanics
• Levitated Milligram-scale Ferromagnetic Magnetometer at Room Temperature
• Massive quantum superpositions using magneto-mechanics
• Probing modified gravity with magnetically levitated resonators
• Torque-free manipulation of nanoparticle rotations via embedded spins
• Surface-induced decoherence and heating of charged particles
• Magnetic flux threading a planar holed superconductor
• Feedback stabilization of a nanoparticle at the intensity minimum of an optical double-well potential
• Nonlinear stochastic and quantum motion from Coulomb forces
• New avenues for testing collapse models