A "Schrödinger Cat" Superposition State of an Atom

A "Schrödinger cat"-like state of matter was generated at the single atom level. A trapped $^9$Be$^+$ ion was laser-cooled to the zero-point energy and then prepared in a superposition of spatially separated coherent harmonic oscillator states. This state was created by application of a se...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1996-05, Vol.272 (5265), p.1131-1136
Main Authors: Monroe, C., Meekhof, D. M., King, B. E., Wineland, D. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atomic and molecular physics
Atoms
Atoms & subatomic particles
Contrapuntal motion
Electronic structure of atoms, molecules and their ions: theory
Exact sciences and technology
Harmonic oscillators
Harmonics
Laser beams
Lasers
Mechanics (Physics)
Motion
Observation
Physics
Quantum decoherence
Quantum entanglement
Quantum Mechanics
Quantum theory
Schrödinger, Erwin
Theory of electronic structure, electronic transitions, and chemical binding
Wave packets
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Summary:A "Schrödinger cat"-like state of matter was generated at the single atom level. A trapped $^9$Be$^+$ ion was laser-cooled to the zero-point energy and then prepared in a superposition of spatially separated coherent harmonic oscillator states. This state was created by application of a sequence of laser pulses, which entangles internal (electronic) and external (motional) states of the ion. The Schrödinger cat superposition was verified by detection of the quantum mechanical interference between the localized wave packets. This mesoscopic system may provide insight into the fuzzy boundary between the classical and quantum worlds by allowing controlled studies of quantum measurement and quantum decoherence.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.272.5265.1131