Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: For testing quantum mechanics in the macroscopic domain, a major challenge is to devise effective means for enhancing the observable nonclassical signatures despite the ubiquitous presence of environmental decoherence. Toward this goal, we invoke the Quantum Zeno Effect (QZE) for achieving a tunable amplification of an inherently nonclassical quantum disturbance induced by any measurement. Such an enhancement of otherwise small and decoherence-suppressed nonclassicality can arise from the cumulative quantum disturbances generated by repetitive measurements, with the tunability of amplification controlled by the number of measurements. To evidence this, we formulate a testable loophole-free scheme using a massive oscillator, where the system preparation requires trapping and ground-state cooling of a massive object. The required measurements can be realized through a beam-splitter-type interaction between the mechanical oscillator and an optical field, followed by photon detection. Our analysis shows that such amplification, suitably quantified in terms of a testable witness, remains appreciably observable even in the realistic regimes of optomechanical damping, and for sufficiently large masses, thus enabling the demonstration of QZE in the macroscopic domain.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, John Templeton Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Leverhulme Trust, University College London, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India, Bose Institute, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Science and Technology Facilities Council, S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences
Awards: G1033867639, G1178187674, G1746971991, G2596867474, Nonclassicality of the Harmonic-Oscillator Coherent State Persisting up to the Macroscopic Domain (NoHarmMacro), G3114824966, G4112658507, G4726331548, G4778413009, G4952149276, G523706377, G5363092874, Macroscopic Superpositions Towards Witnessing the Quantum Nature of Gravity (MAST-QG), G5629115414, G5777601028, G5825810025, G6156362209, WithOut SpaceTime (WOST), Levitated Quantum Diamonds, Nonclassicality of the Harmonic-Oscillator Coherent State Persisting up to the Macroscopic Domain, Integrated levitated optomechanical gravimeter, G8478853881, Amplification of electromagnetic waves by a rotating body, EPSRC Core Equipment at Southampton 2020
OpenAlex ID: W7203612922