2006/09/30 by Dimitri R. Dounas-Frazer, D. R. Dounas-Frazer, Ann M. Hermundstad +3 · 2 citations
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Atom (system on chip) #Boson #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Physics #Quantum #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum decoherence #Quantum mechanics #Quantum superposition #Superposition principle #Tilt (camera) #Ultracold atom #Wave function #cond-mat.other #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.99.200402
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 200402 (2007) · 4 pages, 3 figures
arxiv created 2007/08/23 · openalex publication_date 2007/11/14 · arxiv updated 2010/12/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The N-body problem in a tilted double well requires new features for macroscopic quantum superposition in ultracold atoms. In particular, one needs to go beyond the single-particle ground state in each well. We provide explicit criteria for when two energy levels are needed to describe the state space. For typical experimental parameters, two levels are indeed required for the creation of macroscopic superposition states. Furthermore, we show that a small tilt causes the collapse of such states. However, partial macroscopic superposition states reappear when the tilt can be compensated by atom-atom interactions.