in the dilatational mode could be detected with high fidelity.

Despite the success of this approach, many optomechanics experiments would benefit from the use of low-order mechanical modes, mechanical modes with higher quality factors $Q$ (the mechanical element used in Ref. [@OConnell2010Quantum] had $Q \sim 260$), and direct coupling between the mechanical element and the electromagnetic field (i.e., rather than via a qubit). In addition, some experiments will require the mechanical system to couple to optical frequencies (i.e., visible and near-infrared light) [@Stannigel2010Optomechanical] in addition to microwaves [@Regal2011From].

A number of groups have developed optomechanical systems in which a high-quality, low-order vibrational mode of an object is coupled to a microwave or optical cavity of very low loss [@2007_OpticsExpress_Kippenberg_Vahala; @Marquardt2009Optomechanics]. These high-quality-factor mechanical devices typically resonate at frequencies far too low to be cooled to the ground state by conventional refrigeration techniques. Nevertheless, their vibrational modes can be cooled well below the ambient temperature using coherent states of the electromagnetic field (produced, e.g., by an ideal, noiseless laser) [@Rae2007Theory; @Marquardt2007Quantum]. The technique of using coherent laser light to reduce the temperature of another system (i.e. “laser cooling”) has been used with great success in the atomic physics community to both 