The interaction between radiation and mechanical motion on the nanoscale is now being studied intensively. Known as cavity optomechanics, this field promises applications in quantum communication, sensitive measurements, and fundamental studies of quantum physics. After a general introduction, I will turn to some recent ideas of ours that envisage controllable transport of photons and phonons in so-called optomechanical arrays. Once realized, these systems could feature engineered chiral edge channels for light and sound that are topologically protected against disorder- scattering.

[1] "Cavity optomechanics”, M. Aspelmeyer, T. Kippenberg, and F. Marquardt, Reviews of Modern Physics 86, 1391 (2014)
[2] “Topological Phases of Sound and Light”, V. Peano, C. Brendel, M. Schmidt, and F. Marquardt, Phys. Rev. X 5, 031011 (2015)