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Atomic "bomb testing": The Elitzur-Vaidman experiment violates the Leggett-Garg inequality

Robens, Carsten; Alt, Wolfgang; Emary, Clive; Meschede, Dieter; Alberti, Andrea

Authors

Carsten Robens

Wolfgang Alt

Clive Emary

Dieter Meschede

Andrea Alberti



Abstract

Elitzur and Vaidman have proposed a measurement scheme that, based on the quantum superposition principle, allows one to detect the presence of an object—in a dramatic scenario, a bomb—without interacting with it. It was pointed out by Ghirardi that this interaction-free measurement scheme can be put in direct relation with falsification tests of the macro-realistic worldview. Here we have implemented the “bomb test” with a single atom trapped in a spin-dependent optical lattice to show explicitly a violation of the Leggett–Garg inequality—a quantitative criterion fulfilled by macro-realistic physical theories. To perform interaction-free measurements, we have implemented a novel measurement method that correlates spin and position of the atom. This method, which quantum mechanically entangles spin and position, finds general application for spin measurements, thereby avoiding the shortcomings inherent in the widely used push-out technique. Allowing decoherence to dominate the evolution of our system causes a transition from quantum to classical behavior in fulfillment of the Leggett–Garg inequality.

Citation

Robens, C., Alt, W., Emary, C., Meschede, D., & Alberti, A. (2018). Atomic "bomb testing": The Elitzur-Vaidman experiment violates the Leggett-Garg inequality. In Exploring the World with the Laser: Dedicated to Theodor Hänsch on his 75th Birthday (141-157). Exploring the World with the Laser: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64346-5_10

Acceptance Date Jan 2, 2018
Online Publication Date Jan 3, 2018
Publication Date Jan 2, 2018
Deposit Date Jun 27, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Pages 141-157
Book Title Exploring the World with the Laser: Dedicated to Theodor Hänsch on his 75th Birthday
Chapter Number 11
ISBN 9783319643458; 9783319643465
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64346-5_10
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/897392
Publisher URL https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-319-64346-5_10

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Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2018
Open Access
This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.





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