Near-field levitated quantum optomechanics with nanodiamonds

We theoretically show that the dipole force of an ensemble of quantum emitters embedded in a dielectric nanosphere can be exploited to achieve near-field optical levitation. The key ingredient is that the polarizability from the ensemble of embedded quantum emitters can be larger than the bulk polarizability of the sphere, thereby enabling the use of repulsive optical potentials and consequently the levitation using optical near fields. In levitated cavity quantum optomechanics, this could be used to boost the single-photon coupling by combining larger polarizability to mass ratio, larger field gradients, and smaller cavity volumes while remaining in the resolved sideband regime and at room temperature. A case study is done with a nanodiamond containing a high density of silicon-vacancy color centers that is optically levitated in the evanescent field of a tapered nanofiber and coupled to a high-finesse microsphere cavity.