Dynamical and quantum effects of collective dissipation in optomechanical systems

Optomechanical devices have been cooled to ground-state and genuine quantum features, as well as long-predicted nonlinear phenomena, have been observed. When packing close enough more than one optomechanical unit in the same substrate the question arises as to whether collective or independent dissipation channels are the correct description of the system. Here we explore the effects arising when introducing dissipative couplings between mechanical degrees of freedom. We investigate synchronization, entanglement and cooling, finding that collective dissipation can drive synchronization even in the absence of mechanical direct coupling, and allow to attain larger entanglement and optomechanical cooling. The mechanisms responsible for these enhancements are explored and provide a full and consistent picture.