Cavity Optomechanics of Levitated Nano-Dumbbells: Non-Equilibrium Phases and Self-Assembly

W. Lechner, S. J. M. Habraken, N. Kiesel, M. Aspelmeyer, P. Zoller

Published 2012-12-19, updated 2013-01-17Version 2

Levitated nanospheres in optical cavities open a novel route to study many-body systems out of solution and highly isolated from the environment. We show that properly tuned optical parameters allow for the study of the non-equilibrium dynamics of composite nano-particles with non-isotropic optical friction. We find friction induced ordering and nematic transitions with non-equilibrium analogs to liquid crystal phases for ensembles of dimers.