Optomechanical Systems with Linear and Quadratic Position Couplings: Dynamics and Optimal Estimation

Abstract: We study the dynamics of an optomechanical system consisting of a single-mode optical field coupled to a mechanical oscillator, where the nonlinear interaction includes both linear and quadratic terms in the oscillator's position. We present a full analytical solution to this quantum mechanical Hamiltonian problem by employing the formalism of two-phonon coherent states. Quantum estimation theory is applied to the resulting state of the optical field, with a focus on evaluating the classical and quantum Fisher information for estimating the strength of the quadratic coupling. Our estimation scheme considers both standard and balanced homodyne photodetection, assuming an initial optical state prepared as a superposition of vacuum and single-photon states. We show that balanced homodyne detection can saturate the quantum Fisher information, thus reaching the ultimate precision bound for estimating the quadratic coupling. Additionally, we investigate the effect of thermal noise on the quantum Fisher information in a realistic experimental context.