MERLIN SCIENCE — Quantum Tunneling and Coherence Validated via Atom Interferometry — E8 Intelligence Research
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Quantum tunneling and macroscopic quantum coherence have now been experimentally validated using atom interferometry, giving us a direct handle on how wave functions evolve over distances that are genuinely macroscopic. That is the finding, in one sentence. For context, this sits squarely in the territory of quantum mechanics on large scales, a domain where we have long had theoretical predictions but fewer clean experimental confirmations. The work here, building on the tradition of Kasevich and others, uses atom interferometry to track phase accumulation across meters of free fall and interference. The math is the Schrödinger equation, with tunneling probability scaling as the exponential of minus twice the barrier penetration depth, and the interferometric phase shift coming from the gravitational potential integrated along the path. The decoherence rate scales with the square of the action, which is the mass times velocity times length over Planck's constant. What I want you to e Author: Andrew Stewart Caldin, Independent Researcher, UK. Part of the E8 Intelligence Research series. Platform: e8intelligence.com
Author: Caldin, Andrew Stewart
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204263733
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