Ground state cooling in the strong-coupling regime

Strong coupling between quantum systems, whereby the coupling strength greatly exceeds the decay rates, is a mainstay in quantum information platforms. Notably, this regime is explored in hybrid quantum systems involving entanglement between a microscopic and a macroscopic degree of freedom. Nonetheless, in certain instances it can be a liability; for instance, active cooling of a system to its ground state in the strong coupling regime leads to hybridization of the system and the bath modes. Here we present a novel approach using dissipation engineering that mitigates normal-mode splitting between the system and the bath, while preserving strong coupling between the two. Specifically, we employ an optomechanical setup where the mechanical mode is cooled without hybridizing with the optical bath. The connection of such dissipation-engineered cooling with the physics of exceptional points will also be discussed.