Schrödinger Cat States in a 16-microgram Mechanical Oscillator

Abstract

While the principle of superposition in quantum physics is routinely validated for microscopic systems, it is still unclear why we do not observe macroscopic objects to be in superpositions of states that can be distinguished by some classical property. I will present our experiments, that harness the resonant Jaynes-Cummings interaction between a high overtone resonator mode of a bulk acoustic wave resonator and a superconducting qubit, to demonstrate the preparation of Schrödinger cat states of motion. In such a state, the constituent atoms oscillate in a superposition of two opposite phases with an effective oscillating mass of 16μg. Making use of the circuit quantum acoustodynamics toolbox we have developed, we furthermore show control over amplitudes and phases of the created Schrödinger cat states, and investigate their decoherence dynamics by observing the disappearance of Wigner negativities. Our results can find applications in continuous variable quantum information processing and in fundamental investigations of quantum mechanics in massive systems.

References

• https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf7553