We propose an experiment for constructing a spatial cat state of a suspended mirror with an order of O(mg). The mirror is set at the center of two mirrors, creating two optical cavities and optical springs. The induced potential exhibits a double-well shape, and its deformation resembles a second-order phase transition as a function of laser power. We estimate an adiabatic condition for the ground state wave function to metamorphose from a localized state at the origin to a spatial cat state within the double-well potential, within a coherence time determined by mechanical and environmental noises. Our estimation suggests that such a construction is possible if we can provide an ultra-high finesse optical cavity with F=2.5×105 and a length of 0.3 cm, along with a shot-noise-limited laser at 7.9 nW. The necessary mechanical coherence time is approximately one second.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2404.08435,
title = {Towards a spatial cat state of a massive pendulum},
author = {Satoshi Iso and Jinyang Li and Nobuyuki Matsumoto and Katsuta Sakai},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.08435},
year = {2024}
}