Related papers: Phonon-induced contrast in a matter-wave interfero…
The recent discovery of merging black holes suggests that a stochastic gravitational-wave background is within reach of the advanced detector network operating at design sensitivity. However, correlated magnetic noise from Schumann…
We present a theoretical framework to describe the effects of decoherence on matter waves in Talbot-Lau interferometry. Using a Wigner description of the stationary beam the loss of interference contrast can be calculated in closed form.…
We study fermions in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, subject to a quantum-mechanical environment leading to inelastic scattering, decoherence, renormalization effects, and time-dependent conductance fluctuations. Both the loss of…
Matter-wave interferometry is a highly sensitive tool to measure small perturbations in a quantum system. This property allows the creation of precision sensors for dephasing mechanisms such as mechanical vibrations. They are a challenge…
We present a unique matter-wave interferometer whose phase scales with the cube of the time the atom spends in the interferometer. Our scheme is based on a full-loop Stern-Gerlach interferometer incorporating four magnetic field gradient…
One of the biggest problems faced by those attempting to combine quantum theory and general relativity is the experimental inaccessibility of the unification scale. In this paper we show how incoherent conformal waves in the gravitational…
A compact detector for space-time metric and curvature is highly desirable. Here we show that quantum spatial superpositions of mesoscopic objects, of the type which would in principle become possible with a combination of state of the art…
This chapter reviews recent experiments on matter wave interferometry with large molecules. Starting from an elementary introduction to matter wave physics we discuss far-field diffraction and near-field interferometry with thermally…
With the use of twin, co-located, 3D interferometers, Cardiff University's Gravity Exploration Institute aims to observe quantum fluctuations of space-time as predicted by some theories of quantum gravity. Our design displacement…
We consider the possibility to measure the quantum decoherence using gravitational wave interferometers. Gravitational wave interferometers create the superposition state of photons and measure the interference of the photon state. If the…
The quite different behaviors exhibited by microscopic and macroscopic systems with respect to quantum interferences suggest that there may exist a naturally frontier between quantum and classical worlds. The value of the Planck mass…
A dynamical model for the collapse of the wave function in a quantum measurement process is proposed by considering the interaction of a quantum system (spin-1/2) with a macroscopic quantum apparatus interacting with an environment in a…
Atom interferometers covering macroscopic domains of space-time are a spectacular manifestation of the wave nature of matter. Due to their unique coherence properties, Bose-Einstein condensates are ideal sources for an atom interferometer…
Quantum metrology deals with improving the resolution of instruments that are otherwise limited by shot noise and it is therefore a promising avenue for enabling scientific breakthroughs. The advantage can be even more striking when quantum…
Confining the propagating wavepackets of an atom interferometer inside a waveguide can substantially reduce the size of the device while preserving high sensitivity. We have realized a two-dimensional Sagnac atom interferometer in which…
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 fluctuation of light limits the sensitivity of advanced laser interferometric gravitational-wave detectors. It is one of the principal obstacles on the way towards the next-generation gravitational-wave observatories. The envisioned…
The quantum superposition principle, a key distinction between quantum physics and classical mechanics, is often perceived as a philosophical challenge to our concepts of reality, locality or space-time since it contrasts our intuitive…
A trapped 87Rb Bose-Einstein condensate is initially put into a superposition of two internal states. Under the effect of gravity and by means of a second transition, we prepare two vertically displaced condensates in the same internal…
Matter-wave interferometry with solids is highly susceptible to minute fluctuations of environmental fields, including gravitational effects from distant sources. Hence, experiments require a degree of shielding that is extraordinarily…