Detecting the squeezing and entanglement of nanomechanical modes: a practical scheme

Nanomechanical systems are promising candidates for realizing the continuous variable protocols of quantum information processing. The detection of the squeezing and entanglement of nanomechanical modes is a crucial step towards such applications. Here, we show that by coupling a nanomechanical mode with another continuous variable mode -- a superconducting phase variable, the squeezing and entanglement can be observed within current experimental techniques.