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  • Open Access

Interference-based three-dimensional optical cold damping of a levitated nanoparticle

Youssef Ezzo*, Seyed Khalil Alavi*,†, and Sungkun Hong‡

  • Institute for Functional Matter and Quantum Technologies and and Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST), University of Stuttgart,70569 Stuttgart, Germany

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: skalavi@fmq.uni-stuttgart.de
  • ‡Contact author: sungkun.hong@fmq.uni-stuttgart.de
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Phys. Rev. A 114, 013524 – Published 30 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/63kt-tf4l

Abstract

Achieving efficient three-dimensional feedback cooling of levitated nanoparticles is a key requirement for precision sensing and quantum control in levitated optomechanics. Here we demonstrate three-dimensional optical feedback cooling of a levitated nanoparticle using an interference-enhanced optical force generated within a single beam path. In this scheme, a weak auxiliary field copropagates with the trapping tweezer and interferes with it to produce a tunable optical force that enables cold damping along all three center-of-mass motional axes without additional beam paths or trap reconfiguration. Using this approach, we cool a 142-nm-diameter silica nanoparticle in high vacuum to effective temperatures of 625.8, 711.6, and 19.9 mK along the x, y, and z directions, respectively, at a pressure of 8.5×10−6 mbar. The cooling dynamics and their dependence on feedback gain and pressure are well described by a cold-damping model. Because the feedback force is generated optically, the scheme does not rely on electrical actuation and is directly compatible with neutral particles. These results establish interference-based optical forces as a simple and broadly applicable mechanism for three-dimensional feedback control in levitated optomechanics, with a clear pathway toward the quantum regime under improved vacuum and detection conditions.

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Phys. Rev. A 114, 013524– Published 30 July, 2026
  • Received 11 March 2026
  • Accepted 14 July 2026
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