Related papers: Macroscopic quantum resonators (MAQRO): 2015 Updat…
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…
The objective of the proposed MAQRO mission is to harness space for achieving long free-fall times, extreme vacuum, nano-gravity, and cryogenic temperatures to test the foundations of physics in macroscopic quantum experiments. This will…
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…
Optically levitated particles are used in a wide range of experiments to explore both fundamental physics and to act as sensors to a variety of external forces. One field of particular interest that these particles can be used to…
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…
Macroscopic quantum phenomena (MQP) is a relatively new research venue, with exciting ongoing experiments and bright prospects, yet with surprisingly little theoretical activity. What makes MQP intellectually stimulating is because it is…
Macroscopic quantum phenomena refer to quantum features in objects of `large' sizes, systems with many components or degrees of freedom, organized in ways where they can be identified as macroscopic objects. This emerging field is ushered…
The traditional view from particle physics is that quantum gravity effects should only become detectable at extremely high energies and small length scales. Due to the significant technological challenges involved, there has been limited…
Conceptually different from the decoherence program, we present a novel theoretical approach to macroscopic realism and classical physics within quantum theory. It focuses on the limits of observability of quantum effects of macroscopic…
Rapid experimental progress has recently allowed the use of light to prepare macroscopic mechanical objects into nearly pure quantum states. This research field of quantum optomechanics opens new doors toward testing quantum mechanics, and…
Quantum physics has intrigued scientists and philosophers alike, because it challenges our notions of reality and locality--concepts that we have grown to rely on in our macroscopic world. It is an intriguing open question whether the…
Advances in quantum technologies are giving rise to a revolution in the way fundamental physics questions are explored at the empirical level. At the same time, they are the seeds for future disruptive technological applications of quantum…
The existence of quantum correlations affects both microscopic and macroscopic systems. On macroscopic systems they are difficult to observe and usually irrelevant for the system's evolution due to the frequent energy exchange with the…
It is generally assumed that the search for a consistent and testable theory of quantum gravity is among the most important open problems of fundamental physics. I review the motivations for this search, the main problems on the way, and…
Conventionally, experiments probing the quantum nature of gravity were thought to be prohibitive due to the extremely high energy scales involved. However, recent and rapid advances at the intersection of quantum information and gravity,…
MICROSCOPE is a French Space Agency mission that aims to test the Weak Equivalence Principle in space down to an accuracy of $10^{-15}$. This is two orders of magnitude better than the current constraints, which will allow us to test…
Classical physics is approached from quantum mechanics in the macroscopic limit. The technical device to achieve this goal is the quantum version of the central limit theorem, derived for an observable at a given time and for the…
According to Quantum Mechanics a narrow wave-packet of the center of mass of any macroscopic object should smear out after some time. The problem is usually waved out by assuming that due to their heavy masses this occurs over astronomical…
We present in detail the scientific objectives in fundamental physics of the Space-Time Explorer and QUantum Equivalence Space Test (STE-QUEST) space mission. STE-QUEST was pre-selected by the European Space Agency together with four other…
Quantum mechanics marks a radical departure from the classical understanding of Nature, fostering an inherent randomness which forbids a deterministic description; yet the most fundamental departure arises from something different. As shown…