Description du projet
Tester les fondements de la mécanique quantique à grande échelle
Les lois de la physique quantique sont-elles valables pour des objets massifs de taille aléatoire? Le projet Q-Xtreme, financé par l’UE, tente de répondre à cette importante question en testant la superposition quantique à des échelles macroscopiques sans précédent. En faisant appel à des forces optiques, électriques et magnétiques dans l’ultravide, les chercheurs projettent de placer un objet en lévitation à deux endroits à la fois, séparés par une distance équivalente à sa taille. En proposant une voie viable vers les superpositions macroscopiques d’objets contenant des milliards d’atomes, Q-Xtreme portera la physique quantique macroscopique à un niveau totalement inédit. Les expériences de superposition de hautes masses dépasseront les expériences les plus récentes d’au moins cinq ordres de grandeur en termes de masse.
Objectif
Do the laws of quantum physics hold for massive objects of arbitrary size? Q-Xtreme will address this very important question by testing the quantum superposition principle at unprecedented macroscopic scales: we will place a levitated object in two locations at once, separated by a distance comparable to its size. Experimental confirmations of macroscopic quantum superpositions started as early as 1927, using electrons, and have today reached the size of organic molecules containing thousands of atoms. Q-Xtreme will bring macroscopic quantum physics to an entirely new level by preparing macroscopic quantum superpositions of objects containing billions of atoms, pushing current state-of-the-art by at least five orders of magnitude in mass.
This goal will be achieved by using a radically new approach: quantum controlling the center-of-mass motion of a levitated nanoparticle (a solid-state object of few hundred nanometers) in ultra-high vacuum by using optical, electrical and magnetic forces. Q-Xtreme requires cutting-edge expertise in photonics, nanotechnology, optoelectronics, and quantum technology, which this Synergy Group uniquely combines. The achievements of Q-Xtreme are only possible by the combined proficiency in both fundamental science and engineering of this Synergy Group.
The implications of Q-Xtreme are far-reaching. Testing the quantum superposition principle at unprecedented mass regimes opens the door to experimentally study the interplay of quantum physics and gravity, as well as dark matter and dark energy models. These macroscopic quantum superpositions will also give rise to ultrahigh sensing accuracies, with applications in inertial force sensing, measurements of short-range interactions and gravitational physics.
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ERC-SyG - Synergy grantInstitution d’accueil
6020 Innsbruck
Autriche