Affiliation:
1. Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Universität Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
2. Department of Physics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
Abstract
We discuss the coherent splitting and recombining of a nanoparticle in a mesoscopic “closed-loop” Stern–Gerlach interferometer in which the observable is the spin of a single impurity embedded in the particle. This spin, when interacting with a pulsed magnetic gradient, generates the force on the particle. We calculate the internal decoherence, which arises as the displaced impurity excites internal degrees of freedom (phonons) that may provide WelcherWeg information and preclude interference. We estimate the constraints this decoherence channel puts on future interference experiments with massive objects. We find that for a wide range of masses, forces, and temperatures, phonons do not inhibit Stern–Gerlach interferometry with micro-scale objects. However, phonons do constitute a fundamental limit on the splitting of larger macroscopic objects if the applied force induces phonons.
Funder
Israel Science Foundation
Israel Innovation Authority
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Subject
Electrical and Electronic Engineering,Computational Theory and Mathematics,Physical and Theoretical Chemistry,Computer Networks and Communications,Condensed Matter Physics,Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
Cited by
10 articles.
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