Magnetic noise in macroscopic quantum spatial superposition
Abstract
In this paper, we will show how random fluctuations in the magnetic field will jitter the paths of a matter-wave interferometer randomly, hence, decohere the quantum superposition. To create a large spatial superposition with nanoparticles, we envisage embedding a spin in a nanoparticle as a defect and applying an inhomogeneous magnetic field as in a Stern-Gerlach type experiment to create a macroscopic quantum superposition. Such matter-wave interferometers are the cornerstone for many new fundamental advancements in physics; particularly, adjacent matter-wave interferometers can use entanglement features to test physics beyond the Standard Model, test the equivalence principle, improve quantum sensors, and test the quantum nature of spacetime in a lab. In particular, we will use white and flicker noise to study the decoherence and constrain the parameters keeping in mind ambient temperatures suitable for superconducting wires embedded on a chip. We will show that to obtain a tiny spatial superposition of a nanometer separation, m and to minimize decoherence, , where is the decoherence and is the frequency of the oscillator, we will need current fluctuations to be , which is not impossible to obtain in superconducting wire arrangements. For such tiny fluctuations, we demonstrate that the Humpty-Dumpty problem in a matter-wave interferometer arising from a mismatch in position and momentum does not cause a loss in contrast.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2504.13252,
title = {Magnetic noise in macroscopic quantum spatial superposition},
author = {Sneha Narasimha Moorthy and Andrew Geraci and Sougato Bose and Anupam Mazumdar},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.13252},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
18 pages, 8 figures