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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Bloch-band structure of cavity optomechanical oscillations

Shulin Ding1, Bing He2, Yucheng Wu1, Yong Hu3, Han Wang1, Wenjie Wan4, Min Xiao1, and Xiaoshun Jiang1,*

  • 1National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
  • 2Center for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Universidad Mayor, Camino La Pirámide 5750, Huechuraba, RM, Chile
  • 3Zhejiang Laboratory, Hangzhou 311100, China
  • 4The State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communication Systems and Networks, University of Michigan- Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

  • *Contact author: jxs@nju.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, L012059 – Published 10 March, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.L012059

Abstract

Cavity optomechanical oscillations (OMOs) have been extensively studied for their rich physics and various practical applications. However, due to the highly nonlinear nature of the dynamical process, the exact sideband structure of an optomechanically oscillating optical cavity field remains unknown, although it is essential to a comprehensive understanding and accurate manipulation of such systems. Here, we establish a correspondence between the Bloch-band structure and the coupled sideband dynamics of OMOs, thus providing a theoretical framework for unveiling the detailed structure of cavity optical modes in terms of their resemblance to the well-known Wannier-Stark states and ladders. Surprisingly, the locations of these ladders are irrelevant to pump frequency or power but only depend on the resonant frequency of the optical mode and mechanical-mode frequency. By an energy transfer picture, we build up a connection between the highly nonlinear OMOs and a Bloch-band structure that can be solved linearly. Quantitatively, this picture uncovers the underlying mechanism of the optimization of the pump detuning and optical decay rate, as well as the determination of the minimum input pump power, for sustaining a cavity OMO.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, L012059– Published 10 March, 2025
  • Received 3 May 2023
  • Revised 29 May 2024
  • Accepted 23 December 2024
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