No Arabic abstract
Whether quantum physics is universally valid is an open question with far-reaching implications. Intense research is therefore invested into testing the quantum superposition principle with ever heavier and more complex objects. Here we propose a radically new, experimentally viable route towards studies at the quantum-to-classical borderline by probing the orientational quantum revivals of a nanoscale rigid rotor. The proposed interference experiment testifies a macroscopic superposition of all possible orientations. It requires no diffraction grating, uses only a single levitated particle, and works with moderate motional temperatures under realistic environmental conditions. The first exploitation of quantum rotations of a massive object opens the door to new tests of quantum physics with submicron particles and to quantum gyroscopic torque sensors, holding the potential to improve state-of-the art devices by many orders of magnitude.
We study a class of quantum measurement models. A microscopic object is entangled with a macroscopic pointer such that a distinct pointer position is tied to each eigenvalue of the measured object observable. Those different pointer positions mutually decohere under the influence of an environment. Overcoming limitations of previous approaches we (i) cope with initial correlations between pointer and environment by considering them initially in a metastable local thermal equilibrium, (ii) allow for object-pointer entanglement and environment-induced decoherence of distinct pointer readouts to proceed simultaneously, such that mixtures of macroscopically distinct object-pointer product states arise without intervening macroscopic superpositions, and (iii) go beyond the Markovian treatment of decoherence.
When is decoherence effectively irreversible? Here we examine this central question of quantum foundations using the tools of quantum computational complexity. We prove that, if one had a quantum circuit to determine if a system was in an equal superposition of two orthogonal states (for example, the $|$Alive$rangle$ and $|$Dead$rangle$ states of Schr{o}dingers cat), then with only a slightly larger circuit, one could also $mathit{swap}$ the two states (e.g., bring a dead cat back to life). In other words, observing interference between the $|$Alive$rangle$and $|$Dead$rangle$ states is a necromancy-hard problem, technologically infeasible in any world where death is permanent. As for the converse statement (i.e., ability to swap implies ability to detect interference), we show that it holds modulo a single exception, involving unitaries that (for example) map $|$Alive$rangle$ to $|$Dead$rangle$ but $|$Dead$rangle$ to -$|$Alive$rangle$. We also show that these statements are robust---i.e., even a $mathit{partial}$ ability to observe interference implies partial swapping ability, and vice versa. Finally, without relying on any unproved complexity conjectures, we show that all of these results are quantitatively tight. Our results have possible implications for the state dependence of observables in quantum gravity, the subject that originally motivated this study.
We show that the quantum states generated by universal optimal quantum cloning of a single photon represent an universal set of quantum superpositions resilient to decoherence. We adopt Bures distance as a tool to investigate the persistence ofquantum coherence of these quantum states. According to this analysis, the process of universal cloning realizes a class of quantum superpositions that exhibits a covariance property in lossy configuration over the complete set of polarization states in the Bloch sphere.
The present work reports on an extended research endeavor focused on the theoretical and experimental realization of a macroscopic quantum superposition (MQS) made up with photons. As it is well known, this intriguing, fundamental quantum condition is at the core of a famous argument conceived by Erwin Schroedinger, back in 1935. The main experimental challenge to the actual realization of this object resides generally on the unavoidable and uncontrolled interactions with the environment, i.e. the decoherence leading to the cancellation of any evidence of the quantum features associated with the macroscopic system. The present scheme is based on a nonlinear process, the quantum injected optical parametric amplification, that maps by a linearized cloning process the quantum coherence of a single - particle state, i.e. a Micro - qubit, into a Macro - qubit, consisting in a large number M of photons in quantum superposition. Since the adopted scheme was found resilient to decoherence, the MQS demonstration was carried out experimentally at room temperature with $Mgeq $ $10^{4}$. This result elicited an extended study on quantum cloning, quantum amplification and quantum decoherence. The related theory is outlined in the article where several experiments are reviewed such as the test on the no-signaling theorem and the dynamical interaction of the photon MQS with a Bose-Einstein condensate. In addition, the consideration of the Micro - Macro entanglement regime is extended into the Macro - Macro condition. The MQS interference patterns for large M were revealed in the experiment and the bipartite Micro-Macro entanglement was also demonstrated for a limited number of generated particles: $Mprecsim 12$. At last, the perspectives opened by this new method are considered in the view of further studies on quantum foundations and quantum measurement.
We show that all Macroscopic Quantum Superpositions (MQS) based on phase-covariant quantum cloning are characterized by an anomalous high resilence to the de-coherence processes. The analysis supports the results of recent MQS experiments and leads to conceive a useful conjecture regarding the realization of complex decoherence - free structures for quantum information, such as the quantum computer.