Stochastic Thermodynamics of Cooperative Optical Sensing

A scientific internship on stochastic thermodynamics and cooperative optical sensing in AMOLF's Interacting Photons group. Work activities: investigate whether two coupled optical cavities are better than one for sensing and at what thermodynamic cost, combining breakthroughs at the crossroads of nanophotonics and statistical physics. Perform experiments with single and coupled tunable optical cavities to read out the presence of a perturbation (initially a dielectric nanoparticle, possibly a single absorbing molecule) using light, driven by a monochromatic continuous wave laser; explore nonlinear dynamical regimes for sensing, the influence of noise, and fundamental trade-offs between speed, energy efficiency, and precision in sensing.