Quantum States of OptoMechanical Structures

量子理论在解释我们周围世界的许多方面都非常成功。尽管取得了这一成就，量子理论的基本方面对该理论的创始人来说仍然是神秘的。特别值得注意的是，粒子以某种方式获得了关于它可能采取的不同“路径”的信息。这种观察引出了这样一个问题：如果这种量子效应可以在宏观物体中观察到，会发生什么？如果量子力学定律仍然适用于大型物体，人们似乎不得不接受猫可以同时活着和死的观点(遵循薛定谔著名的思维实验)。然而，其他人质疑，基于目前对该理论的支持，如此激烈的结论是否合理。事实是，到目前为止，所有直接测试单个物体的量子叠加的实验都局限于光子、原子、分子和电子的集合。此外，量子理论在试图将其与相对论统一时也面临着问题。因此，无论是在理论上还是在实验上，都不可能排除量子力学不适用于大型物体的可能性。光学技术已经发展到可以把一个小镜子放入两个量子态的叠加中的水平。这项实验将使用一面特别小的镜子进行，它的直径比人的头发还小，但仍然比之前引入量子叠加的任何物体的质量大100亿倍。该奖项为反射镜和悬臂梁的制造以及液氦冷却装置的设计和理论工作提供支持。此外，它还提供差旅支助，以便与亚毫微克尔文系统方面的国际专家建立密切合作。首先，在这一未被探索的领域中测试量子力学是至关重要的。然而，微机械系统的光学控制，特别是光学冷却技术的应用，也有望在计量学中引起广泛的兴趣，也可以用于几个不同的实验，如产生压缩光和共振增强的卡西米尔力。这项研究计划涉及到重要的教育内容，这项研究对于教授量子力学和微机械系统的基本性质以及在多学科和国际环境中培训年轻研究人员最先进的技术来说是非常好的。

Quantum theory has been extremely successful in explaining many aspects of the world around us. Despite this achievement, fundamental aspects of the quantum theory are as mysterious as they were to the founders of the theory. Especially remarkable is the feature that a particle somehow obtains information about different "paths" it could have taken. This observation leads to the question of what would happen if such quantum effects could be observed in macroscopic objects. If the laws of quantum mechanics remain valid for large objects, one seems to be forced to accept that cats can be alive and dead at the same time (following Schroedinger's famous thought experiment). However, others question whether such a drastic conclusion is justified based on the current support for the theory. The fact is that all experiments to date that directly tested the quantum superposition of individual objects are restricted to photons, atoms, molecules and ensemble of electrons. Furthermore the quantum theory is faced with problems when trying to unify it with the theory of relativity. It is not possible either on theoretical or experimental grounds, therefore, to rule out the possibility that quantum mechanics does not apply to large objects. Optical technology has progressed to the level that it is conceivable to put a small mirror into a superposition of two quantum states. The experiment will be done with a particularly tiny mirror, smaller in diameter than a human hair but still about ten billion times more massive than any object previously brought into a quantum superposition. This award provides support for the mirror and cantilever fabrication as well as for designing a liquid-helium cooled apparatus and performing supporting theoretical work. Furthermore it provides travel support for establishing a close collaboration with international experts on sub-millikelvin systems. Testing quantum mechanics in this unexplored regime is first of all of fundamental importance. The optical control of micro-mechanical systems, in particular the application of optical cooling techniques, is however also expected to be of broad interest in metrology and could also be used for several different experiments such as generating squeezed light and resonance enhanced Casimir forces. This research program involves significant educational component, and the research is excellent for teaching fundamental properties of quantum mechanics and micro-mechanical systems and for training young researchers in state-of-the-art technologies in a multi-disciplinary and international environment.