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Free Nano-Object Ramsey Interferometry for Large Quantum Superpositions
Physical Review Letters, Volume: 117, Issue: 14
Swansea University Author: James Bateman
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DOI (Published version): 10.1103/physrevlett.117.143003
Abstract
We propose an interferometric scheme based on an untrapped nano-object subjected to gravity. The motion of the center of mass (c.m.) of the free object is coupled to its internal spin system magnetically, and a free flight scheme is developed based on coherent spin control. The wavepacket of the tes...
Published in: | Physical Review Letters |
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ISSN: | 0031-9007 1079-7114 |
Published: |
American Physical Society (APS)
2016
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Online Access: |
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URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa30573 |
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Abstract: |
We propose an interferometric scheme based on an untrapped nano-object subjected to gravity. The motion of the center of mass (c.m.) of the free object is coupled to its internal spin system magnetically, and a free flight scheme is developed based on coherent spin control. The wavepacket of the test object, under a spin-dependent force, may then be delocalized to a macroscopic scale. A gravity induced dynamical phase (accrued solely on the spin state, and measured through a Ramsey scheme) is used to reveal the above spatially delocalised superposition of the spin-nano-object composite system that arises during our scheme. We find a remarkable immunity to the motional noise in the c.m. (initially in a thermal state with moderate cooling), and also a dynamical decoupling nature of the scheme itself. Together they secure a high visibility of the resulting Ramsey fringes. The mass independence of our scheme makes it viable for a nano-object selected from an ensemble with a high mass variability. Given these advantages, a quantum superposition with 100 nm spatial separation for a massive object of 109 amu is achievable experimentally, providing a route to test postulated modifications of quantum theory such as continuous spontaneous localisation. |
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College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
Issue: |
14 |