Probing tiny motions of nanomechanical resonators: classical or quantum mechanical?

We propose a spectroscopic approach to probe tiny vibrations of a nanomechanical resonator (NAMR), which may reveal classical or quantum behavior depending on the decoherence-inducing environment. Our proposal is based on the detection of the voltage-fluctuation spectrum in a superconducting transmission line resonator (TLR), which is indirectly coupled to the NAMR via a controllable Josephson qubit acting as a quantum transducer. The classical (quantum mechanical) vibrations of the NAMR induce symmetric (asymmetric) Stark shifts of the qubit levels, which can be measured by the voltage fluctuations in the TLR. Thus, the motion of the NAMR, including if it is quantum mechanical or not, could be probed by detecting the voltage-fluctuation spectrum of the TLR.

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