Optomechanical control of atoms and molecules

We briefly review some of our recent and ongoing work on nanoscale optomechanics, an emerging area at the confluence of atomic, condensed matter and gravitational wave physics. A central tenet of optomechanics is the laser cooling of a moving mirror, typically an end mirror of a Fabry-Perot resonator, to a point near its quantum-mechanical ground state of vibration. Following a general introduction we discuss how the motion of such a macroscopic quantum oscillator can be squeezed, and then show how the placement of a ferroelectric tip on the oscillator allows the coherent manipulation and control of the center-of-mass motion of ultracold polar molecules.