In this talk I will describe our recent theoretical work on levitated optomechanics with optically trapped nanoparticles. I will address the theory of cooling as well as regenerative excitation of center-of-mass nanoparticle motion [1]. I will relate our work to the experiments in the group of our collaborator A. N. Vamivakas at the University of Rochester, including our recent demonstration of a two-mode thermomechanically squeezed phonon laser [2]. 

[1] Nature Photonics 13, 402 (2019)
[2] Nature Communications 17, 2882 (2026)

Bio: Mishkat Bhattacharya is a Professor of Füsics at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, USA.  His research in theoretical quantum optics has been recognized with an NSF Career award (2015), selected as one of the Breakthroughs of the Year by Optics and Photonics magazine (2019), and awarded a US patent (2024).