Engineering Superposition States and Tailored Probes for Nano-resonators Via Open-Loop Control

We show that a nano-resonator can be prepared in mesoscopic-superposition states merely by monitoring a qubit coupled to the square of the resonators position. This works for thermal initial states, and does not require a third-order nonlinearity. The required coupling can be generated using a simple open-loop control protocol, obtained with optimal control theory. We simulate the complete preparation process, including environmental noise. Our results indicate the power of open-loop control for state-engineering and measurement in quantum nano-systems.