Related papers: Nanomechanical test of quantum linearity
Theories of spontaneous wavefunction collapse offer an explanation of the possible breakdown of quantum mechanics for macroscopic systems. However, the challenge of resolving predicted collapse signatures above background noise has…
Mechanical systems are ideal candidates for studying quantumbehavior of macroscopic objects. To this end, a mechanical resonator has to be cooled to its ground state and its position has to be measured with great accuracy. Currently,…
In the field of quantum technology, nanomechanical oscillators offer a host of useful properties given their compact size, long lifetimes, and ability to detect force and motion. Their integration with superconducting quantum circuits shows…
Quantum experiments with nanomechanical oscillators are regarded as a testbed for hypothetical modifications of the Schr\"{o}dinger equation, which predict a breakdown of the superposition principle and induce classical behavior at the…
The small mass and high coherence of nanomechanical resonators render them the ultimate force probe, with applications ranging from biosensing and magnetic resonance force microscopy, to quantum optomechanics. A notorious challenge in these…
Nanomechanical resonators promise diverse applications ranging from mass spectrometry to quantum information processing, requiring long phonon lifetimes and frequency stability. Although two-level system (TLS) defects govern dissipation at…
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…
The coherent states that describe the classical motion of a mechanical oscillator do not have well-defined energy, but are rather quantum superpositions of equally-spaced energy eigenstates. Revealing this quantized structure is only…
In the field of cavity optomechanics, proposals for quantum nondemolition (QND) measurements of phonon number provide a promising avenue by which one can study the quantum nature of nanoscale mechanical resonators. Here, we investigate…
We present a concise outlook on future experimental tests of spontaneous wave function collapse models. We discuss tests based on force noise measurements in ultrasensitive mechanical systems, spontaneous heating in ultracold solid matter…
All quantum optomechanics experiments to date operate at cryogenic temperatures, imposing severe technical challenges and fundamental constraints. Here we present a novel design of on-chip mechanical resonators which exhibit fundamental…
Experimental observation of the decoherence of macroscopic objects is of fundamental importance to the study of quantum collapse models and the quantum to classical transition. Optomechanics is a promising field for the study of such models…
The observation of quantized nanomechanical oscillations by detecting femtometer-scale displacements is a significant challenge for experimentalists. We propose that phonon blockade can serve as a signature of quantum behavior in…
Micro-optomechanical systems are central to a number of recent proposals for realizing quantum mechanical effects in relatively massive systems. Here we focus on a particular class of experiments which aim to demonstrate massive quantum…
A long-standing quantum-mechanical puzzle is whether the collapse of the wave function is a real physical process or simply an epiphenomenon. This puzzle lies at the heart of the measurement problem. One way to choose between the…
Realizing quantum mechanical behavior in micro- and nanomechanical resonators has attracted continuous research effort. One of the ways for observing quantum nature of mechanical objects is via the mechanism of phonon blockade. Here, we…
It appears feasible with nanostructures to perform calorimetry at the level of individual thermal phonons. Here I outline an approach employing monocrystalline mesoscopic insulators, which can now be patterned from semiconductor…
Observation of quantum phenomena in cryogenic, optically cooled mechanical resonators has been recently achieved by a few experiments based on cavity optomechanics. A well-established experimental platform is based on a thin film…
Two fundamental, and unsolved problems in physics are: i) the resolution of the "measurement problem" in quantum mechanics ii) the quantization of strongly nonlinear (nonabelian) gauge theories. The aim of this paper is to suggest that…
Nanomechanical resonators with ultra-high quality factors have become a central element in fundamental research, enabling measurements below the standard quantum limit and the preparation of long-lived quantum states. Here, I propose that…