LCN researchers from King’s College London have pioneered a new way of linking tiny levitated microparticles using a virtual partner, opening up exciting possibilities for precision measurement and next-generation sensing technologies.
Levitated particles are microscopic objects suspended in vacuum by laser light or electrical fields. They behave like high-quality mechanical oscillators with exceptionally low interaction with their surroundings – like a bell which rings for a long time after being struck. This pure oscillation makes levitated particles powerful sensors of extremely small forces and for studying fundamental physics.
In a study published in Photonics, the researchers report the first demonstration of a semi-virtual coupling between a real levitated oscillator and a simulated ‘ghost’ particle generated on an analogue computer. By engineering an interaction between the real and virtual systems, the team were able to make the levitated particle exhibit coupled-oscillator dynamics, behaviour typically seen only when two physical oscillators interact directly.
Instead of using a second physical particle, the virtual oscillator can be controlled and tuned in real time. This provides unprecedented flexibility in tailoring the interaction and offers a new method for measurement-based control of levitated systems, with potential applications in high-precision control and physical simulation.
Levitated mechanical systems are already being developed for force sensing, inertial measurement and tests of quantum physics. The ability to engineer ghost-like interactions is a spooky new tool in our particle control toolbox. The semi-virtual coupled oscillators could enable new strategies for cooling mechanical motion towards its quantum ground state.
The research lays the theoretical and experimental foundations for more sophisticated levitated architectures that combine real and simulated elements, a frontier that could accelerate the development of high-precision measurement and quantum-inspired technologies.
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