2,792 research outputs found
Experimental verification of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle for hot fullerene molecules
The Heisenberg uncertainty principle for material objects is an essential
corner stone of quantum mechanics and clearly visualizes the wave nature of
matter. Here we report a demonstration of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle
for the most massive, complex and hottest single object so far, the fullerene
molecule C70 at a temperature of 900 K. We find a good quantitative agreement
with the theoretical expectation: dx * dp = h, where dx is the width of the
restricting slit, dp is the momentum transfer required to deflect the fullerene
to the first interference minimum and h is Planck's quantum of action.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Influence of molecular temperature on the coherence of fullerenes in a near-field interferometer
We study C70 fullerene matter waves in a Talbot-Lau interferometer as a
function of their temperature. While the ideal fringe visibility is observed at
moderate molecular temperatures, we find a gradual degradation of the
interference contrast if the molecules are heated before entering the
interferometer. A method is developed to assess the distribution of the
micro-canonical temperatures of the molecules in free flight. This way the
heating-dependent reduction of interference contrast can be compared with the
predictions of quantum theory. We find that the observed loss of coherence
agrees quantitatively with the expected decoherence rate due to the thermal
radiation emitted by the hot molecules.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure
Quantum Theory Approach for Neutron Single and Double-Slit Diffraction
We provide a quantum approach description of neutron single and double-slit
diffraction, with specific attention to the cold neutron diffraction (\AA) carried out by Zeilinger et al. in 1988. We find the
theoretical results are good agreement with experimental data.Comment: 10 page
Diffraction of complex molecules by structures made of light
We demonstrate that structures made of light can be used to coherently
control the motion of complex molecules. In particular, we show diffraction of
the fullerenes C60 and C70 at a thin grating based on a standing light wave. We
prove experimentally that the principles of this effect, well known from atom
optics, can be successfully extended to massive and large molecules which are
internally in a thermodynamic mixed state and which do not exhibit narrow
optical resonances. Our results will be important for the observation of
quantum interference with even larger and more complex objects.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Quantum theory of electronic double-slit diffraction
The phenomena of electron, neutron, atomic and molecular diffraction have
been studied by many experiments, and these experiments are explained by some
theoretical works. In this paper, we study electronic double-slit diffraction
with quantum mechanical approach. We can obtain the results: (1) When the slit
width is in the range of we can obtain the obvious
diffraction patterns. (2) when the ratio of , order are missing in
diffraction pattern. (3)When the ratio of , there isn't missing order in diffraction pattern. (4) We
also find a new quantum mechanics effect that the slit thickness has a
large affect to the electronic diffraction patterns. We think all the
predictions in our work can be tested by the electronic double-slit diffraction
experiment.Comment: 9pages, 14figure
Illusory Decoherence
If a quantum experiment includes random processes, then the results of
repeated measurements can appear consistent with irreversible decoherence even
if the system's evolution prior to measurement was reversible and unitary. Two
thought experiments are constructed as examples.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
The Physical Principles of Quantum Mechanics. A critical review
The standard presentation of the principles of quantum mechanics is
critically reviewed both from the experimental/operational point and with
respect to the request of mathematical consistency and logical economy. A
simpler and more physically motivated formulation is discussed. The existence
of non commuting observables, which characterizes quantum mechanics with
respect to classical mechanics, is related to operationally testable
complementarity relations, rather than to uncertainty relations. The drawbacks
of Dirac argument for canonical quantization are avoided by a more geometrical
approach.Comment: Bibliography and section 2.1 slightly improve
High-efficiency quantum interrogation measurements via the quantum Zeno effect
The phenomenon of quantum interrogation allows one to optically detect the
presence of an absorbing object, without the measuring light interacting with
it. In an application of the quantum Zeno effect, the object inhibits the
otherwise coherent evolution of the light, such that the probability that an
interrogating photon is absorbed can in principle be arbitrarily small. We have
implemented this technique, demonstrating efficiencies exceeding the 50%
theoretical-maximum of the original ``interaction-free'' measurement proposal.
We have also predicted and experimentally verified a previously unsuspected
dependence on loss; efficiencies of up to 73% were observed and the feasibility
of efficiencies up to 85% was demonstrated.Comment: 4 pages, 3 postscript figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett;
submitted June 11, 199
A closer look at the uncertainty relation of position and momentum
We consider particles prepared by the von Neumann-L\"uders projection. For
those particles the standard deviation of the momentum is discussed. We show
that infinite standard deviations are not exceptions but rather typical. A
necessary and sufficient condition for finite standard deviations is given.
Finally, a new uncertainty relation is derived and it is shown that the latter
cannot be improved.Comment: 3 pages, introduction shortened, content unchange
Decoherence of matter waves by thermal emission of radiation
Emergent quantum technologies have led to increasing interest in decoherence
- the processes that limit the appearance of quantum effects and turn them into
classical phenomena. One important cause of decoherence is the interaction of a
quantum system with its environment, which 'entangles' the two and distributes
the quantum coherence over so many degrees of freedom as to render it
unobservable. Decoherence theory has been complemented by experiments using
matter waves coupled to external photons or molecules, and by investigations
using coherent photon states, trapped ions and electron interferometers. Large
molecules are particularly suitable for the investigation of the
quantum-classical transition because they can store much energy in numerous
internal degrees of freedom; the internal energy can be converted into thermal
radiation and thus induce decoherence. Here we report matter wave
interferometer experiments in which C70 molecules lose their quantum behaviour
by thermal emission of radiation. We find good quantitative agreement between
our experimental observations and microscopic decoherence theory. Decoherence
by emission of thermal radiation is a general mechanism that should be relevant
to all macroscopic bodies.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
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