Related papers: A Scheme to Probe the Decoherence of a Macroscopic…
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 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…
Schr\"odinger's cat originates from the famous thought experiment querying the counterintuitive quantum superposition of macroscopic objects. As a natural extension, several "cats" (quasi-classical objects) can be prepared into coherent…
We consider fundamental limits on the detectable size of macroscopic quantum superpositions. We argue that a full quantum mechanical treatment of system plus measurement device is required, and that a (classical) reference frame for phase…
We study a class of quantum measurement models. A microscopic object is entangled with a macroscopic pointer such that each eigenvalue of the measured object observable is tied up with a specific pointer deflection. Different pointer…
A small quantum system within the gravitational field of a massive body will be entangled with the quantum degrees of freedom of the latter. Hence, the massive body acts as an environment, and it induces non-unitary dynamics, noise, and…
A thought experiment is discussed to clarify the concept of decoherence. Superposition of states consisting of ground state of a single hydrogen atom and its excited state after a huge amount of time is discussed to show that the…
The `Schr\"odinger's cat' thought experiment highlights the counterintuitive facet of quantum theory that entanglement can exist between microscopic and macroscopic systems, producing a superposition of distinguishable states like the…
The study of environmentally induced superselection and of the process of decoherence was originally motivated by the search for the emergence of classical behavior out of the quantum substrate, in the macroscopic limit. This limit, and…
We discuss recent experimental evidence of decoherence in a laboratory mesoscopic system in a cavity, from which we draw analogies with the decoherence that we argue is induced by microscopic quantum-gravity fluctuations in the space-time…
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,…
This paper discusses work developed in recent years, in the domain of quantum optics, which has led to a better understanding of the classical limit of quantum mechanics. New techniques have been proposed, and experimentally demonstrated,…
Most discussions of decoherence in the literature consider the high-temperature regime but it is also known that, in the presence of dissipation, decoherence can occur even at zero temperature. Whereas most previous investigations all…
During the past decade, the experimental development of being able to create ever larger and heavier quantum superpositions has brought the discussion of the connection between microscopic quantum mechanics and macroscopic classical physics…
The present work reports on an extended research endeavor focused on the theoretical and experimental realization of a macroscopic quantum superposition (MQS) made up with photons. As it is well known, this intriguing, fundamental quantum…
We show that a cavity field can evolve from an initial displaced mixed thermal state to a macroscopic superpositions of displaced thermal states via resonant interaction with a two-level atom. As a macroscopic system (meter) is really in a…
The Schr\"odinger equation predicts the validity of the superposition principle at any scale, yet we do not experience cats being in a superposition of "dead" and "alive" in our everyday lives. Modifications to quantum theory at the…
Various models have been proposed in which the Schr\"odinger equation is modified to account for a decay of spatial coherences of massive objects. While optomechanical systems and matter-wave interferometry with large clusters are promising…
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…
Usually, decoherence is generated from the coupling with an outer environment. However, a macroscopic object generically possesses its own environment in itself, namely the complicated dynamics of internal degrees of freedom. We address a…