Erlangen 2022 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 66: Quantum Effects IV

Q 66.6: Talk

Friday, March 18, 2022, 11:45–12:00, Q-H13

Decoherence of Nanorotors due to Heat Radiation — •Jonas Schäfer, Benjamin A. Stickler, and Klaus Hornberger — Faculty of Physics, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg

Recent breakthroughs in levitated optomechanics with aspherical nanoparticles open the door to observing and exploiting rotational quantum interference for fundamental tests of quantum physics and for sensing applications [1]. This talk presents a theory of spatio-orientational decoherence of arbitrarily shaped dielectrics due to thermal emission of radiation. It will be shown that the orientational coherences decay gradually even for isotropic particles due to the vector character of phononic dipole transitions. We quantify the decoherence and discuss its impact for upcoming lab and space-based quantum superposition tests.

[1] Stickler et al., Nat. Rev. Phys. 3, 589-597 (2021)