1 research outputs found
Macroscopic Quantum Superpositions in a Wide Double-Well Potential
We present an experimental proposal for the rapid preparation of the center
of mass of a levitated particle in a macroscopic quantum state, that is a state
delocalized over a length scale much larger than its zero-point motion and that
has no classical analog. This state is prepared by letting the particle evolve
in a static double-well potential after a sudden switchoff of the harmonic
trap, following initial center-of-mass cooling to a sufficiently pure quantum
state. We provide a thorough analysis of the noise and decoherence that is
relevant to current experiments with levitated nano- and microparticles. In
this context, we highlight the possibility of using two particles, one evolving
in each potential well, to mitigate the impact of collective sources of noise
and decoherence. The generality and scalability of our proposal make it
suitable for implementation with a wide range of systems, including single
atoms, ions, and Bose-Einstein condensates. Our results have the potential to
enable the generation of macroscopic quantum states at unprecedented scales of
length and mass, thereby paving the way for experimental exploration of the
gravitational field generated by a source mass in a delocalized quantum state.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl