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Conducting levitated mechanical experiments in extreme conditions has long been the aim of researchers, as it allows for the investigation of new fundamental physics phenomena. One of the great frontiers has been sending these experiments into the micro-g environment of space, with multiple proposals calling for such a platform. At the same time, levitated sensors have demonstrated a high sensitivity to external stimuli which will only improve in low-vibrational conditions. conditions This paper describes the development of a technology demonstrator for optical and magnetic trapping experiments in space. Our payload represents the first concrete step towards future missions with aims of probing fundamental physical questions: matter-wave interferometry of nanoparticles to probe the limits of macroscopic quantum mechanics, detection of Dark Matter candidates and gravitational waves to test physics beyond the Standard Model, and accelerometry for Earth-observation., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. Comments welcome

Squeezing is a crucial resource for quantum information processing and quantum sensing. In levitated nanomechanics, squeezed states of motion can be generated via temporal control of the trapping frequency of a massive particle. However, the amount of achievable squeezing typically suffers from detrimental environmental effects. We analyze the performance of a scheme that, by embedding careful time-control of trapping potentials and fully accounting for the most relevant sources of noise -- including measurement backaction -- achieves significant levels of mechanical squeezing. The feasibility of our proposal, which is close to experimental state-of-the-art, makes it a valuable tool for quantum state engineering., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, comments are welcome! Quantum Sci. Technol (2024)

We report on an experiment achieving the dynamical generation of non-Gaussian states of motion of a levitated optomechanical system. We access intrinsic Duffing-like nonlinearities by thermal squeezing of an oscillator's state of motion by rapidly switching the frequency of its trap. We characterize the experimental non-Gaussian state versus expectations from simulations and give prospects for the emergence of genuine nonclassical features.