Back-action evading impulse measurement with mechanical quantum sensors

Abstract: The quantum measurement of any observable naturally leads to noise added by the act of measurement. Approaches to evade or reduce this noise can lead to substantial improvements in a wide variety of sensors, from laser interferometers to precision magnetometers and more. In this paper, we develop a measurement protocol based upon pioneering work by the gravitational wave community which allows for reduction of added noise from measurement by coupling an optical field to the momentum of a small mirror. As a specific implementation, we present a continuous measurement protocol using a double-ring optomechanical cavity. We demonstrate that with experimentally-relevant parameters, this protocol can lead to significant back-action noise evasion, yielding measurement noise below the standard quantum limit over many decades of frequency.