Theory 03/Optomechanics
Cooling Stops at a Sideband Ratio
The claim
Optomechanical cooling is limited by the ratio of mechanical frequency to cavity linewidth, so a system in the resolved-sideband regime cools far better at the same input power.
01The mechanism
Cooling requires the anti-Stokes sideband to be resolved from the cavity resonance; when the mechanical frequency is small relative to the linewidth, heating and cooling processes cannot be separated.
02Predictions
- P1Final occupation should collapse onto the ratio.
- P2Same power in unresolved regime should cool poorly.
03Refutation
Cooling independent of the sideband ratio would remove the mechanism.