Related papers: Decoherence-free measurement of wavefunction colla…
Marshall et al. gedanken experiment of the quantum superpposition of a mirror (oscilating part of a Michelson interferometer) interacting with single photon is consequently interpreted by relative decoherence.Such relative decoherence…
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 superposition principle is the cornerstone of quantum mechanics, leading to a variety of genuinely quantum effects. Whether the principle applies also to macroscopic systems or, instead, there is a progressive breakdown when moving to…
We re-analyse the optomechanical interferometer experiment proposed by Marshall, Simon, Penrose and Bouwmeester with the help of a recently developed quantum-classical hybrid theory. This leads to an alternative evaluation of the mirror…
Wavefunction collapse is a puzzling aspect of quantum mechanics. Designing a test to confirm the instantaneousness of collapse has turned out to be challenging, especially for collapse in configuration space. We propose a test using two…
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…
We analyze the recently proposed mirror superposition experiment of Marshall, Simon, Penrose, and Bouwmeester, assuming that the mirror's dynamics contains a non-unitary term of the Lindblad type proportional to -[q,[q,\rho]], with q the…
The measurement problem in quantum mechanics arises from the apparent collapse of a superposition state to a definite outcome when a measurement is made. Although treating the measuring apparatus as a classical system has been a successful…
Weak measurement is unique in enabling measurements of non-commuting operators as well as otherwise-undetectable peculiar phenomena predicted by the Two-State-Vector-Formalism (TSVF). This article, the first in two parts, explores novel…
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…
We propose a scheme for creating quantum superposition states involving of order $10^{14}$ atoms via the interaction of a single photon with a tiny mirror. This mirror, mounted on a high-quality mechanical oscillator, is part of a…
The analysis of the modifications that the presence of a deformed dispersion relation entails in the roots of the so--called degree of coherence function, for a beam embodying two different frequencies and moving in a Michelson…
We apply the formalism of quantum measurement theory to the idealized measurement of the position of a particle with an optical interferometer, finding that the backaction of counting entangled photons systematically collapses the…
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…
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 possibility of consistency between the basic quantum principles of quantum mechanics and wave function collapse is reexamined. A specific interpretation of environment is proposed for this aim and applied to decoherence. When the…
The test of modifications to quantum mechanics aimed at identifying the fundamental reasons behind the un-observability of quantum mechanical superpositions at the macro-scale is a crucial goal of modern quantum mechanics. Within the…
We describe an atom interferometer to study the coherence of atoms reflected from an evanescent wave mirror. The interferometer is sensitive to the loss of phase coherence induced by the defects in the mirror. The results are consistent…
Matter-wave interferometry performed with massive objects elucidates their wave nature and thus tests the quantum superposition principle at large scales. Whereas standard quantum theory places no limit on particle size, alternative, yet…
A mechanical electroscope based on a change in the resonant frequency of a cantilever one micron in size in the presence of charge has recently been fabricated. We derive the decoherence rate of a charge superposition during measurement…