We investigate the influence of environmental noise on polarization entangled light generated by parametric emission in a cavity. By adopting a recently developed separability criterion, we show that: i) self-stimulation may suppress the detrimental influence of noise on entanglement; ii) when self-stimulation becomes effective, a classical model of parametric emission incorporating noise provides the same results of quantum theory for the expectation values involved in the separability criterion. Moreover we show that, in the macroscopic limit, it is impossible to observe violations of local realism with measurements of $n$-particle correlations, whatever n but finite. These results provide an interesting example of the emergence of macroscopic local realism in the presence of strong entanglement even in the absence of decoherence.
We show that quantum mechanics predicts a contradiction with local hidden variable theories for photon number measurements which have limited resolving power, to the point of imposing an uncertainty in the photon number result which is macroscopic in absolute terms. We show how this can be interpreted as a failure of a new premise, macroscopic local realism.
We suggest to test the premise of ``macroscopic local realism'' which is sufficient to derive Bell inequalities when measurements of photon number are only accurate to an uncertainty of order $n$ photons, where $n$ is macroscopic. Macroscopic local realism is only sufficient to imply, in the context of the original Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen argument, fuzzy ``elements of reality'' which have a macroscopic indeterminacy. We show therefore how the violation of local realism in the presence of macroscopic uncertainties implies the failure of ``macroscopic local realism''. Quantum states violating th…
Macroscopic realism, as introduced by Leggett and Garg, is the world view in which properties of macroscopic systems exist independent of and are not influenced by measurement. Motivated by classical physical laws such as Newtonian mechanics or Maxwell's electrodynamics, in this work we add the restrictive postulate that the observables of macroscopic objects are evolved continuously through space and time. Quantum theory violates both macroscopic realism and the continuity assumption. While decoherence or collapse models (e.g. due to a universal noise background or gravitational self energy) …
We define a quantum witness for high-mass matter-wave interferometers that allows us to test fundamental assumptions of macroscopic realism. We propose an experimental realisation using absorptive laser gratings and show that such systems can strongly violate a macrorealistic quantum-witness equality. The measurement of the witness can therefore provide clear evidence of physics beyond macrorealism for macromolecules and nanoparticles.
We show that for macroscopic measurements which cannot reveal full information about microscopic states of the system, the monogamy of Bell inequality violations present in quantum mechanics implies that practically all correlations between macroscopic measurements can be described by local realistic models. Our results hold for sharp measurement and arbitrary closed quantum systems.
We show that quantum mechanics predicts an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox (EPR), and also a contradiction with local hidden variable theories, for photon number measurements which have limited resolving power, to the point of imposing an uncertainty in the photon number result which is macroscopic in absolute terms. We show how this can be interpreted as a failure of a new, very strong premise, called macroscopic local realism. We link this premise to the Schrodinger-cat paradox. Our proposed experiments ensure all fields incident on each measurement apparatus are macroscopic. We show that an…
Macro-realism is a fundamental feature of classical world that contradicts with the quantum theory. An elegant method of testing macrorealism is to apply the Leggett-Garg inequality (LGI), but the non-invasivity of measurement is challenging in practice. In this work, we report the LGI violation of path observable in a composite interference experiment with coherent light. Experiment results confirm the occurrence of destructive interference providing per se as evidence of macro-realism violation. And by using an exact weak measurement model in the present experiment, the advantage that the vi…
We consider tests of Leggett-Garg's macrorealism and of macroscopic local realism, where for spacelike separated measurements the assumption of macroscopic noninvasive measurability is justified by that of macroscopic locality. We give a mapping between the Bell and Leggett-Garg experiments for microscopic qubits based on spin $1/2$ eigenstates and gedanken experiments for macroscopic qubits based on two macroscopically distinct coherent states (cat states). In this mapping, the unitary rotation of the Stern-Gerlach analyzer is realized by an interaction $H=Ω\hat{n}^{4}$ where $\hat{n}$ is the…
Macroscopic realism, the classical world view that macroscopic objects exist independently of and are not influenced by measurements, is usually tested using Leggett-Garg inequalities. Recently, another necessary condition called no-signaling in time (NSIT) has been proposed as a witness for non-classical behavior. In this paper, we show that a combination of NSIT conditions is not only necessary but also sufficient for a macrorealistic description of a physical system. Any violation of macroscopic realism must therefore be witnessed by a suitable NSIT condition. Subsequently, we derive an ope…
Macroscopic realism is a classical worldview that a macroscopic system is always determinately in one of the two or more macroscopically distinguishable states available to it, and so is never in a superposition of these states. The question of whether there is a fundamental limitation on the possibility to observe quantum phenomena at the macroscopic scale remains unclear. Here we implement a strict and simple protocol to test macroscopic realism in a light-matter interfaced system. We create a micro-macro entanglement with two macroscopically distinguishable solid-state components and rule o…
We propose a new Wigner inequality suitable for test of the hypothesis of realism. We show that this inequality is not identical neither to the well-known Wigner inequality nor to the Leggett-Garg inequality in Wigner form. The obtained inequality is suitable for test of realism not only in quantum mechanical systems, but also in quantum field systems. Also we propose a mathematically consistent derivation of the Leggett--Garg inequality in Wigner form, which was recently presented in the literature, for three and $n$ distinct moments of time. Contrary to these works, our rigor derivation uses…
Macroscopic realism is the thesis that macroscopically observable properties must always have definite values. The idea was introduced by Leggett and Garg (1985), who wished to show a conflict with the predictions of quantum theory. However, their analysis required not just the assumption of macroscopic realism per se, but also that the observable properties could be measured non-invasively. In recent years there has been increasing interest in experimental tests of the violation of the Leggett-Garg inequality, but it has remained a matter of controversy whether this second assumption is a rea…
Wave-particle duality is an essential character of quantum systems. In the last few years, much progress has being made towards formally quantifying these quantum features. The properties of the quantum density matrix were shown to lead to duality inequalities for single-quanton mixed states and to triality identities, also known as complete complementarity relations (CCRs), for two-quanton pure states. In this article, we establish connections between CCRs and EPR (ir)realism, as formalized by Bilobran and Angelo in [Europhys. Lett. 112, 40005 (2015)]. Besides, we show that, for tripartite pu…
Macroscopic realism (MR) specifies that where a system can be found in one of two macroscopically distinguishable states (a cat being dead or alive), the system is always predetermined to be in one or other of the two states (prior to measurement). Proposals to test MR generally introduce a second premise to further qualify the meaning of MR. This paper examines two such models, the first where the second premise is that the macroscopically distinguishable states are quantum states (MQS) and the second where the macroscopcially distinguishable states are localised hidden variable states (LMHVS…
Why do we not experience a violation of macroscopic realism in every-day life? Normally, no violation can be seen either because of decoherence or the restriction of coarse-grained measurements, transforming the time evolution of any quantum state into a classical time evolution of a statistical mixture. We find the sufficient condition for these classical evolutions for spin systems under coarse-grained measurements. Then we demonstrate that there exist "non-classical" Hamiltonians whose time evolution cannot be understood classically, although at every instant of time the quantum spin state …
In 1985, Leggett and Garg put forward the concept of macroscopic realism (macrorealism) and, in analogy to Bell's theorem, derived a necessary condition in terms of inequalities, which are now known as the Leggett-Garg inequalities. In this paper, we discuss another necessary condition called no-signaling in time. It solely bases on comparing the probability distribution for a macrovariable at some time for the cases where previously a measurement has or has not been performed. Although the concept is analogous to the no-signaling condition in the case of Bell tests, it can be violated accordi…
On the basis of our recent model of a one-dimensional (1D) completed scattering we argue that Leggett's principles of macroscopic realism must and can be extended onto the level of single electrons and atoms. These principles need three quite feasible innovations in quantum mechanics (QM): (1) at the conceptual level, QM must treat a pure time-dependent one-particle state to involve two or more macroscopically distinct alternatives for a particle as a pure {\it combined} one - the intermediate link between a pure {\it elementary} state (indecomposable into macroscopically distinct parts) and s…
We study the emergence of macrorealism in a harmonic oscillator subject to consecutive measurements of a squeezed action. Since the harmonic oscillator dynamics admits a hidden trajectory formulation, the assumptions of macrorealism are violated only by the measurement process. We demonstrate a breakdown of macrorealism in a wide parameter range that is maximized in a scaling limit of extreme squeezing. A semiclassical analysis shows that macrorealism is violated even with measurements of classically smooth observables that do not resolve quantum levels. We propose an experimental test of macr…
We describe a new and experimentally feasible protocol for performing fundamental tests of quantum mechanics with massive objects. In our approach a single two level system is used to probe the motion of a nanomechanical resonator via multiple Ramsey interference measurements. This scheme enables the measurement of modular variables of macroscopic continuous variable systems and we show that correlations thereof violate a Leggett-Garg inequality and can be applied for tests of quantum contextuality. Our method can be implemented with a variety of different solid state or photonic qubit-resonat…
We present a unified approach, based on the use of quantum uncertainty relations, for arriving at criteria for the demonstration of the EPR paradox and macroscopic superpositions. We suggest to view each criterion as a means to demonstrate an EPR-type paradox, where there is an inconsistency between the assumptions of a form of realism, either macroscopic realism (MR) or local realism (LR), and the completeness of quantum mechanics.
We study the fluctuations of the work performed on a driven quantum system, defined as the difference between subsequent measurements of energy eigenvalues. These work fluctuations are governed by statistical theorems with similar expressions in classical and quantum physics. In this article we show that we can distinguish quantum and classical work fluctuations, as the latter can be described by a macrorealistic theory and hence obey Leggett-Garg inequalities. We show that these inequalities are violated by quantum processes in a driven two-level system and in a harmonic oscillator subject to…
Macroscopic realism is the name for a class of modifications to quantum theory that allow macroscopic objects to be described in a measurement-independent manner, while largely preserving a fully quantum mechanical description of the microscopic world. Objective collapse theories are examples which aim to solve the quantum measurement problem through modified dynamical laws. Whether such theories describe nature, however, is not known. Here we describe and implement an experimental protocol capable of constraining theories of this class, that is more noise tolerant and conceptually transparent…
Ontological theories of quantum mechanics provide a realistic description of single systems by means of well-defined quantities conditioning the measurement outcomes. In order to be complete, they should also fulfil the minimal condition of macroscopic realism. Under the assumption of outcome determinism and for Hilbert space dimension greater than two, they were all proved to be contextual for projective measurements. In the recent years a generalized concept of non-contextuality was introduced that applies also to the case of outcome indeterminism and unsharp measurements. It was pointed out…
In the Schrödinger-cat gedanken experiment a cat is in a quantum superposition of two macroscopically distinct states, alive and dead.The paradoxical interpretation of quantum mechanics is that the cat is not in one state or the other, alive or dead, immediately prior to its measurement. Because of this apparent defiance of macroscopic reality, quantum superpositions of states macroscopically distinct have generated much interest. Here we address the issue of proving a contradiction with macroscopic reality objectively, through the testable predictions of quantum mechanics. We consider the pre…
Recently there has been much interest in optomechanical devices for the production of macroscopic quantum states. Here we focus on a proposed scheme for achieving macroscopic superpositions via nested interferometry. We consider the effects of finite temperature on the superposition produced. We also investigate in detail the scheme's feasibility for probing various novel decoherence mechanisms.
The paper investigates the type of realism that best suits the framework of decoherence taken at face value without postulating a plurality of worlds, or additional hidden variables, or non-unitary dynamical mechanisms. It is argued that this reading of decoherence leads to an extremely radical type of perspectival realism, especially when cosmological decoherence is considered.
Recently, there have been several suggestions that weak Kerr nonlinearity can be used for generation of macroscopic superpositions and entanglement and for linear optics quantum computation. However, it is not immediately clear that this approach can overcome decoherence effects. Our numerical study in this paper shows that nonlinearity of weak strength could be useful for macroscopic entanglement generation and quantum gate operations in the presence of decoherence. We suggest specific values for real experiments based on our analysis. Our discussion shows that the generation of macroscopic e…
We study how the decoherence of macroscopic objects is induced intrisinically by relativistic effect. With the degree of freedom of center of mass (CM) characterizing the collective quantum state of a macroscopic object (MO), it is found that a MO consisting of N particles can decohere with time scale no more than sqrt(N). Here, the special relativity can induce the coupling of the collective motion mode and the relative motion modes in an order of 1/c2, which intrinsically results in the above minimum decoherence.
Environment induced decoherence entails the absence of quantum interference phenomena from the macroworld. The loss of coherence between superposed wave packets depends on their separation. The precise temporal course depends on the relative size of the time scales for decoherence and other processes taking place in the open system and its environment. We use the exactly solvable model of an harmonic oscillator coupled to a bath of oscillators to illustrate various decoherence scenarios: These range from exponential golden-rule decay for microscopic superpositions, system-specific decay for la…
We propose a new test of local realism based on correlation measurements of continuum valued functions of positions and momenta, known as modular variables. The Wigner representation of these observables are bounded in phase space, and therefore, the associated inequality holds for any state described by a non-negative Wigner function. This agrees with Bell's remark that positive Wigner functions, serving as a valid probability distribution over local (hidden) phase space coordinates, do not reveal non-locality. We construct a class of entangled states resulting in a violation of the inequalit…
We show that all Macroscopic Quantum Superpositions (MQS) based on phase-covariant quantum cloning are characterized by an anomalous high resilence to the de-coherence processes. The analysis supports the results of recent MQS experiments and leads to conceive a useful conjecture regarding the realization of complex decoherence - free structures for quantum information, such as the quantum computer.
A deterministic scheme for generating a macroscopic superposition state of a nanomechanical resonator is proposed. The nonclassical state is generated through a suitably engineered dissipative dynamics exploiting the optomechanical quadratic interaction with a bichromatically driven optical cavity mode. The resulting driven dissipative dynamics can be employed for monitoring and testing the decoherence processes affecting the nanomechanical resonator under controlled conditions.
The usual formulation of Macrorealism is recast to make this notion fully concurrent with the basic ideas behind classical physics. The assumption of non-invasiveness of measurements is dropped. Instead, it is assumed that the current state of the system defines full initial conditions for its subsequent evolution. An example of a new family of temporal Bell inequalities is derived which can be applied to processes in which the state of the system undergoes arbitrarily many transformations (which was not the case in the original approach). An exponential (in terms of number of operations) viol…
We study a class of quantum measurement models. A microscopic object is entangled with a macroscopic pointer such that a distinct pointer position is tied to each eigenvalue of the measured object observable. Those different pointer positions mutually decohere under the influence of an environment. Overcoming limitations of previous approaches we (i) cope with initial correlations between pointer and environment by considering them initially in a metastable local thermal equilibrium, (ii) allow for object-pointer entanglement and environment-induced decoherence of distinct pointer readouts to …
We investigate the lifetime of macroscopic entanglement under the influence of decoherence. For GHZ-type superposition states we find that the lifetime decreases with the size of the system (i.e. the number of independent degrees of freedom) and the effective number of subsystems that remain entangled decreases with time. For a class of other states (e.g. cluster states), however, we show that the lifetime of entanglement is independent of the size of the system.
Using spatiotemporal Born rule for testing macroscopic realism: some applications to the pseudo-density matrices and nonclassical temporal correlations
International Institute of Physics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte（北里奥格兰德联邦大学国际物理研究所）；Institute of Physics, Federal University of Goiás（戈亚斯联邦大学物理研究所）；Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford（牛津大学克拉伦登实验室）；School of Science and Technology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte（北里奥格兰德联邦大学科学技术学院）
The high resilience to de-coherence shown by a recently discovered Macroscopic Quantum Superposition (MQS) involving a number of photons in excess of 5 x 10^4 motivates the present theoretical and numerical investigation. The results are placed in close comparison with the properties of the well known MQS based on |alpha> states. The very critical decoherence properties of the latter MQS are found to be fully accounted for, in a direct a simple way, by a unique "universal" function: indeed a new property of the quantum "coherent states".
The descriptions of the quantum realm and the macroscopic classical world differ significantly not only in their mathematical formulations but also in their foundational concepts and philosophical consequences. When and how physical systems stop to behave quantum mechanically and begin to behave classically is still heavily debated in the physics community and subject to theoretical and experimental research. This dissertation puts forward an approach to the quantum-to-classical transition fully within quantum theory and conceptually different from already existing models: It neither needs to …
We identify a class of quantum states, each consisting of a microscopic and a macroscopic section, that are effectively decoherence-free when each particle is locally passed through a quantum channel. In particular, and in contrast to other macroscopic quantum states like the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state, the content of entanglement and other quantum correlations in the microscopic to macroscopic partition of this class of states is independent of the number of particles in their macroscopic sectors, when all the particles suffer passage through local amplitude and phase damping channels.…
We show that the quantum states generated by universal optimal quantum cloning of a single photon represent an universal set of quantum superpositions resilient to decoherence. We adopt Bures distance as a tool to investigate the persistence ofquantum coherence of these quantum states. According to this analysis, the process of universal cloning realizes a class of quantum superpositions that exhibits a covariance property in lossy configuration over the complete set of polarization states in the Bloch sphere.
The Schrödinger cat state plays a crucial role in quantum theory, and has important fundamental as well as technological implications, ranging from quantum measurement theory to quantum computers. The power of the potential implications of the cat state lies in the quantum coherence, as measured by the degree of entanglement, between its microscopic and macroscopic sectors. We show that in contrast to other cat states, it is possible to choose the states of the macroscopic sector in a way that the resulting cat state, which we term as the W-cat state, has quantum coherence that is resistant to…
In quantum systems of a macroscopic size V, such as interacting many particles and quantum computers with many qubits, there exist pure states such that fluctuations of some intensive operator A is anomalously large, <δA^2> = O(V^0), which is much larger than that assumed in thermodynamics, <δA^2> = O(1/V). By making full use of the locality, we show, starting from Hamiltonians of macroscopic degrees of freedom, that such states decohere at anomalously fast rates when they are weakly perturbed from environments.
The high resilience to de-coherence shown by a recently discovered Macroscopic Quantum Superposition (MQS) generated by a quantum injected optical parametric amplifier (QI-OPA) and involving a number of photons in excess of 5x10^4 motivates the present theoretical and numerical investigation. The results are analyzed in comparison with the properties of the MQS based on coherent states and NOON states, in the perspective of the comprehensive theory of the subject by W.H.Zurek. In that perspective the concepts of "pointer state", "einselection" are applied to the new scheme.
Markovian regime decoherence effects in quantum computers are studied in terms of the fidelity for the situation where the number of qubits N becomes large. A general expression giving the decoherence time scale in terms of Markovian relaxation elements and expectation values of products of system fluctuation operators is obtained, which could also be applied to study decoherence in other macroscopic systems such as Bose condensates and superconductors. A standard circuit model quantum computer involving three-state lambda system ionic qubits is considered, with qubits localised around well-se…
We propose a quantum optical version of Schrödinger's famous gedanken experiment in which the state of a microscopic system (a cavity field) becomes entangled with and disentangled from the state of a massive object (a movable mirror). Despite the fact that a mixture of Schrödinger cat states is produced during the evolution (due to the fact that the macroscopic mirror starts off in a thermal state), this setup allows us to systematically probe the rules by which a superposition of spatially separated states of a macroscopic object decoheres. The parameter regime required to test environment-i…
It is known that a macroscopic quantum superposition (MQS), when it is exposed to environment, decoheres at a rate scaling with the separation of its component states in phase space. This is more or less consistent with the well known proposition that a more macroscopic quantum state is reduced more quickly to a classical state in general. Effects of initial mixedness, however, on the subsequent decoherence of MQSs have been less known. In this paper, we study the evolution of a highly mixed MQS interacting with an environment, and compare it with that of a pure MQS having the same size of the…
Macroscopic quantum systems (MQS) are macroscopic systems driven by quantum rather than classical mechanics, a long studied area with minimal success till recently. Harnessing the benefits of quantum mechanics on a macroscopic level would revolutionize fields ranging from telecommunication to biology, the latter focused on here for reasons discussed. Contrary to misconceptions, there are no known physical laws that prevent the development of MQS. Instead, they are generally believed universally lost in complex systems from environmental entanglements (decoherence). But we argue success is achi…
Usually, decoherence is generated from the coupling with an outer environment. However, a macroscopic object generically possesses its own environment in itself, namely the complicated dynamics of internal degrees of freedom. We address a question: when and how the internal dynamics decohere interference of the center of mass motion of a macroscopic object. We will also show that weak localization of a macroscopic object in disordered potentials can be destroyed by such decoherence.
We study the macroscopic realism (macrorealism) through the two- and three-time Leggett-Garg inequalities (LGIs) in a two interacting qubits system. The two qubits are coupled either with two bosonic (thermal or photonic) baths or fermionic (electronic) baths. We study both how the equilibrium and nonequilibrium environments influence the LGIs. One way to characterize the nonequilibrium condition is by the temperature difference (for the bosonic bath) or the chemical potential difference (for the fermionic bath). We also study the heat or particle current and the entropy production rate genera…
