Title: Optomechanics with levitated liquid Helium

Abstract:

Superfluid helium is a remarkable substance. It is the only cryogenic fluid that does not solidify at arbitrarily low temperatures and it’s transition into the superfluid state is characterised by frictionless-flow and non-trivial thermodynamic properties. Furthermore, it offers a range of unique excitations, such as quantized vortices, rotons, and maxons. Motivated by the complexity of this intriguing substance, I have been systematically working towards optical, electrical and magnetic control of superfluid helium for fundamental science and applications. In this talk I will summarize some of that work, with an emphasis on levitating droplets of superfluid helium to enable pristine isolation. I will also present some of my more recent work towards dark matter detection using superfluid helium.

Bio:

Dr Glen Harris obtained his PhD in quantum optomechanics at the University of Queensland in 2015, before moving to the Yale University (USA) for a postdoctoral position. He is currently a Discovery Early Career Research Fellow whose research at the Centre for Engineered Quantum Systems at the University of Queensland explores how superfluid optomechanical systems can be used in sensing applications and fundamental science.