LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Aikawa Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab explores the quantum world by cooling nanoparticles levitated in mid-air to the extreme.
AboutAbout the lab
Cooling nanoparticles levitated in vacuum to the extreme.
Aikawa Lab studies how to cool nanoparticles, levitated in mid-air with lasers, to the extreme.
Nanoparticles levitated in vacuum are isolated from all surrounding matter.
Taking advantage of this feature, unprecedented applications are expected, ranging from condensed matter physics to precision measurement.
The lab cools the center-of-mass motion of a particle to near the quantum ground state and explores the quantum nature of that motion.
Key terms
- Optomechanics
- A research field that uses electromagnetic waves such as light to observe and control the motion of objects
- Quantum ground state
- The lowest-energy state a system can have. The fluctuations of its motion are as small as the limit set by quantum mechanics
- Optical lattice
- A standing wave created by reflecting laser light back on itself. It forms a periodic structure in which particles can be arranged and held
NewsLab news
Held an online lab tour at the Faculty of Science open campus
Published a paper on acceleration sensing using levitated nanoparticles
A doctoral thesis by a graduate of the lab won the Springer Thesis Award
Project Assistant Professor Odabe won the Physical Society of Japan Young Scientist Award
A paper demonstrating quantum squeezing of the motion of a levitated nanoparticle was published in Science
ResearchResearch themes
Within optomechanics, which uses light to control the motion of objects, the lab works on levitated nanoparticle systems, in which nanoparticles are levitated in vacuum. The lab cools the motion of particles to near the quantum ground state, pioneering physics that becomes visible only there and applying it to highly sensitive acceleration sensing.
*Illustrative imageCooling neutral nanoparticles to the ground state
Charged nanoparticles are easily affected by electric-field noise from the outside. The lab developed a technique to make particles neutral and a method to cool their motion using light alone, and demonstrated cooling to the ground state.
*Illustrative imageTrapping nanoparticles with electric fields
Laser trapping is not suitable for nanoparticles made of materials that absorb some of the light. Taking advantage of the fact that particles carry a slight charge, the lab is researching how to trap them in an ion trap that uses electric fields and cool them.
*Illustrative imageCooling nanoparticles with electric-field feedback
The lab developed and demonstrated a method that cools nanoparticles by feeding back electric fields while observing the particles' motion with light. It is more efficient than the conventional method of varying the light intensity.
*Illustrative imageTwo particles orbiting each other
The lab discovered a phenomenon in which nanoparticles trapped in an optical lattice oscillate strongly at atmospheric pressure. Two particles in the same lattice were spontaneously orbiting around each other.
MembersFaculty
The members of Aikawa Lab consist of faculty, researchers, and master's students.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorKiyotaka AikawaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorTakuya KawasakiPublications ↗
- Project Assistant ProfessorSotatsu Odabe
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
On a 4-point scale, ● marks where students' answers fall
Who is this lab for?
What's great about this lab?
What did you learn after joining?
What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
Where do graduates go?
RelatedLabs similar to Aikawa Lab
Konishi LabFaculty of Science, Department of PhysicsMetamaterials, optical science of laser processing
Nakatsuji-Sakai LabFaculty of Science, Department of PhysicsTopological condensed matter physics, superconductivity, spi…
Ueda LabFaculty of Science, Department of PhysicsQuantum measurement, quantum information, information thermo…
Hayashi LabFaculty of Science, Department of PhysicsSpin currents, nonlinear optical effects, strongly coupled q…The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Mirror and Lens setup for laser tweezers” Thctamm / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Cooling neutral nanoparticles to the ground state: “Cloud of ultracold atoms levitated in a magneto-optical trap” Balping / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Trapping nanoparticles with electric fields: “Quantum Computing; Ion Trapping ( )” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- Cooling nanoparticles with electric-field feedback: “Nanoparticles, Optical Tweezers ( )” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- Two particles orbiting each other: “Ultracold atoms ( )” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (小西研究室): “Optical Table with doubled Nd-YAG Laser - (1)” Giorgio Brida from Torino, Italy / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (中辻・酒井研究室): “FZU AV CR Silicon Single Crystal C” Mojmir Churavy / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (上田 正仁 研究室): “JILA's strontium optical atomic clock” Sebastian Blatt, JILA, University of Colorado / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (林研究室): “Optical elements and green laser beem” Dasha Butova / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.