Optomechanics (a brief review)

We review the emerging field of optomechanics, where the radiation pressure of light circulating inside an optical cavity is employed to cool, manipulate and read out micro- and nanomechanical oscillators. These systems display a rich classical nonlinear dynamics and can be used for sensitive detection. Once they are successfully cooled into the quantum ground state, they promise fundamental tests of quantum mechanics in a new regime.