Related papers: Testing quantum physics in space using optically t…
Quantum superposition is central to quantum theory but challenges our concepts of reality and spacetime when applied to macroscopic objects like Schr\"odinger's cat. For that reason, it has been a long-standing question whether quantum…
Quantum physics challenges our understanding of the nature of physical reality and of space-time and suggests the necessity of radical revisions of their underlying concepts. Experimental tests of quantum phenomena involving massive…
Quantum optomechanics exploits radiation pressure effects inside optical cavities. It can be used to generate quantum states of the center-of-mass motion of massive mechanical objects, thereby opening up a new parameter regime for…
Space offers exciting opportunities to test the foundations of quantum physics using macroscopic quantum superpositions. It has been proposed to perform such tests in a dedicated space mission (MAQRO) using matter-wave interferometry with…
Tests of quantum mechanics on a macroscopic scale require extreme control over mechanical motion and its decoherence. Quantum control of mechanical motion has been achieved by engineering the radiation-pressure coupling between a…
A nanoscale object evidenced in a non-classical state of its centre of mass will hugely extend the boundaries of quantum mechanics. To obtain a practical scheme for the same, we exploit a hitherto unexplored coupled system: an atom and a…
An interferometric experiment is described that characterizes an optical cat state in a cavity mode. Our method describes how to measure the amplitude and phase of the different coherent states that make up the cat states. We show that…
We review recent works on optomechanics of optically trapped microspheres and nanoparticles in vacuum, which provide an ideal system for studying macroscopic quantum mechanics and ultrasensitive force detection. An optically trapped…
We describe the use of optically levitated microspheres as test masses in experiments aimed at reaching and potentially exceeding the standard quantum limit for position measurements. Optically levitated microspheres have low mass and are…
Quantum control of atoms at ultrashort distances from surfaces would open a new paradigm in quantum optics and offer a novel tool for the investigation of near-surface physics. Here, we investigate the motional states of atoms that are…
Quantum Hypothesis Testing has shown the advantages that quantum resources can offer in the discrimination of competing hypothesis. Here, we apply this framework to optomechanical systems and fundamental physics questions. In particular, we…
We investigate the feasibility of observing matter-wave interference of a micron-sized charged particle by putting it into a quantum superposition of states with a distinguishable separation. In the proposed method, an atomic ion is…
The apparent conflict between general relativity and quantum mechanics remains one of the unresolved mysteries of the physical world. According to recent theories, this conflict results in gravity-induced quantum state reduction of…
The most striking feature of quantum mechanics is the existence of superposition states, where an object appears to be in different situations at the same time. The existence of such states has been tested with small objects, like atoms,…
We study the application of squeezed states in a quantum optical scheme for direct sampling of the phase space by photon counting. We prove that the detection setup with a squeezed coherent probe field is equivalent to the probing of the…
Although the study of ultracold quantum gases trapped by light is a prominent direction of modern research, the quantum properties of light were widely neglected in this field. Quantum optics with quantum gases closes this gap and addresses…
We study the atom-light interaction in the fully quantum regime, with focus on off-resonant light scattering into a cavity from ultracold atoms trapped in an optical lattice. The detection of photons allows the quantum nondemolition (QND)…
We analyze the requirements to test some of the most paradigmatic collapse models with a protocol that prepares quantum superpositions of massive objects. This consists of coherently expanding the wave function of a ground-state-cooled…
Gedankenexperiments have consistently played a major role in the development of quantum theory. A paradigmatic example is Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment, a wave-particle duality test that cannot be fully understood using only classical…
Quantum Schrodinger cat states are of great interest in quantum communications and quantum optics. These states are used in various scientific fields such as quantum computing, quantum error correction and high-precision measurements. The…