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Quantum superposition of molecules beyond 25 kDa

Yaakov Y. Fein, Philipp Geyer, Patrick Zwick

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Filip Kiałka, Sebastian Pedalino, Marcel Mayor, Stefan Gerlich, Markus Arndt

2019 · Nature Physics

Physics
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shagie
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The double slit experiment has been replicated even with fairly hefty molecules. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-019-0663-9 > Here, we report interference of a molecular library of functionalized oligoporphyrins with masses beyond 25,000 Da and consisting of up to 2,000 atoms, by far the heaviest objects shown to exhibit matter-wave interference to date. It would be awkward to say that the 2000 atom molecule comes out of both sides... but it does, until you look. The double slit experiment is not a duplication cheat of reality... it's weirder than that.
Original comment Did the Particle Go Through the Two Slits, or Did the Wave Function?
whimsicalism
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> Sure, but, again, decoherence doesn't explain (1) why the wave function is split in the classical states (position, momentum etc.) and not other states (linear combinations of position and momentum and spin etc.); and (2) doesn't explain why different states have the precise probabilities of being observed that they do. You still need to postulate these features. I agree that (1) is a strong objection that I do not have an easy solution to. (2) I think is addressable in the same way that it is in CI - our theory has to explain our observed experience and the born rule (whether CI-flavored or MWI-flavored) is how we do so. > No one has ever successfully put a macroscopic object in superposition But getting larger and larger. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-019-0663-9 Thanks for an informative discussion!
Original comment Experiments spell doom for physical-collapse explanation of quantum weirdness
nabla9
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1) No relevance to the phenomenon the experiment demonstrates. The end result in the screen is noisy from all possible interactions with no relevance to the demonstration. The wall must not allow the particle trough. 2) The nature or the origin of particle does not have relevance in the experiment. Double slit experiment is now done with molecules made of 2000+ atoms and 10k electrons. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-019-0663-9
Original comment Two double-slit experiment questions
aazaa
Neutral mention · rule
The original paper, fortunately linked in the article, is quite readable: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-019-0663-9 I was expecting it to discuss the largest species previously shown to demonstrate an interference pattern, but unfortunately there was none. Other points of note: Regarding the choice of molecule, and specifically fluorination: > An intense neutral beam of intact molecules is a prerequisite for our experiments, but soft neutral volatilization and post-ionization of complex molecules is an outstanding technical challenge. While matrix-assisted laser desorption and electrospray ionization are useful tools for molecular analysis, the charged beams they…
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pro- duce are incompatible with the stringent dephasing requirements of interferometry. Continuous effusive thermal beams, on the other hand, suffer from thermal fragmentation for masses beyond a few kilodaltons. This can be overcome via fluoroalkyl-functionalization of the molecules, which adds mass, reduces the polarizability-to- mass ratio and increases volatility The group sees another factor of 10 increase in the ability to measure interference: > With advances in beam sources for biomolecules and metal clusters26,27, techniques to cool the particles below 80K (refs.28,29), and refined grating26 and imaging technologies30, our experiment is scalable and will push matter-wave interference and macroscopicity tests by another order of magnitude24 The Coriolis effect was corrected at least in part mechanically rather than purely computationally: > Compensation of the Coriolis effect is critical to obtaining high-visibility interference fringes in LUMI. By tilting the gratings, we introduce a gravitational deflection that opposes the Coriolis shift ...
Original comment Giant Molecules Exist in Two Places at Once in Quantum Experiment

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