Data for Ultra-high quality factor of a levitated nanomechanical oscillator

A levitated nanomechanical oscillator under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) is highly isolated from its environment, and this isolation is expected to enable very low mechanical dissipation rates. However, a gap persists between predictions and experimental data. Here, we levitate a silica nanoparticle in a linear Paul trap at room temperature, at pressures as low as 7e-11 mbar. We measure a dissipation rate of 2π × 80(20) nHz, corresponding to a quality factor exceeding 1e10, more than two orders of magnitude higher than previously shown. A study of the pressure dependence of the particle’s damping and heating rates provides insight into the relevant dissipation mechanisms. Our results confirm that levitated nanoparticles are indeed promising candidates for ultrasensitive detectors and for tests of quantum physics at macroscopic scales.