Cascaded Optomechanical Sensing for Small Signals

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2602.08981v1
• Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2026 18:28:43 GMT
• Title: Cascaded Optomechanical Sensing for Small Signals
• Authors: Marta Maria Marchese, Daniel Braun, Stefan Nimmrichter, Dennis Rätzel,
• Abstract summary: We propose a sensing scheme for detecting weak forces that achieves Heisenberg-limited sensitivity without relying on entanglement or other non-classical resources.<n>Our scheme utilizes coherent averaging across a chain of N optomechanical cavities, unidirectionally coupled via a laser beam.<n>This work opens a new pathway for leveraging coherent light-matter interactions for force sensing.
• Score: 1.137457877869062
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: We propose a sensing scheme for detecting weak forces that achieves Heisenberg-limited sensitivity without relying on entanglement or other non-classical resources. Our scheme utilizes coherent averaging across a chain of N optomechanical cavities, unidirectionally coupled via a laser beam. As the beam passes through the cavities, it accumulates phase shifts induced by a common external force acting on the mechanical elements. Remarkably, this fully classical approach achieves the sensitivity scaling typically associated with quantum-enhanced protocols, providing a robust and experimentally feasible route to precision sensing. Potential applications range from high-sensitivity gravitational field measurements at the Large Hadron Collider to probing dark matter interactions and detecting gravitational waves. This work opens a new pathway for leveraging coherent light-matter interactions for force sensing.

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