Quantum rotations of levitated particles

Abstract:
Levitating small particles in ultra-high vacuum provides a promising platform to control their rotational and translational motion at the quantum level ^[1]. In this talk I will discuss how the rotational motion of nanoscale to microscale objects can be controlled in optical, electrical, and magnetic traps. I will explain recent experiments of rotational cooling into the quantum regime ^[2] and I will show how levitated quantum rotors can be used to test quantum mechanics ^[3]. 

[1] Stickler, Hornberger, and Kim, Nat. Rev. Phys. 3, 589 (2021)
[2] Troyer, Fechtel, Hummer, Rudolph, Stickler, Delić, and Arndt, Nat. Phys. 22 584 (2026)
[3] Wachter, Kusminskiy, Hétet, and Stickler, Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 073604 (2026)