English

Catapulting towards massive and large spatial quantum superposition

Quantum Physics 2023-01-13 v2

Abstract

Large spatial quantum superposition of size O(110) μm{\cal O}(1-10)~{\rm \mu \text{m}} for mass m10171014 kgm \sim 10^{-17}-10^{-14}~\text{kg} is required to probe the foundations of quantum mechanics and testing classical and quantum nature of gravity via entanglement in a laboratory. In this paper, we will show that it is possible to accelerate the two spin states of a macroscopic nano-crystal sourced by the inhomogeneous nonlinear magnetic field in the Stern-Gerlach type setup. We will assume that the electronic spin can be embedded at the centre of the nano-crystal, such as the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centre of diamond. Our analysis will be generic to any dopant or any material. We will show that we can create a desired superposition size within 121-2 seconds by catapulting the trajectories of the two spin states with a modest magnetic field gradient and then recombine the trajectories for a coherent interference. We will show the demanding nature of the precision required in the magnetic field to recover 99%99\% spin coherence confidence level at the moment of interference.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2206.04088,
  title  = {Catapulting towards massive and large spatial quantum superposition},
  author = {Run Zhou and Ryan J. Marshman and Sougato Bose and Anupam Mazumdar},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2206.04088},
  year   = {2023}
}

Comments

18 pages, 16 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-24T11:44:02.578Z