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arXiv:2312.05452 · Physical Review A

Dephasing due to electromagnetic interactions in spatial qubits

Martine Schut, Herre Bosma, Meng-Zhi Wu, Marko Toroš, Sougato Bose, Anupam Mazumdar

Published Aug 8, 2024• 17 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Matter-wave interferometers with microparticles will enable the next generation of quantum sensors to probe minute quantum phase information. Therefore, estimating the loss of coherence and the degree of entanglement degradation for such interferometers is essential. In this paper, we provide a noise analysis in frequency-space focusing on electromagnetic sources of dephasing. We assume that our matter-wave interferometer has a residual charge or dipole which can interact with a neighboring particle in the ambience. We investigate the dephasing due to the Coulomb, charge-induced dipole, charge-permanent dipole, and dipole-dipole interactions. All these interactions constitute electromagnetically driven dephasing channels that can affect single or multiple interferometers. As an example, we apply the obtained formulas to situations with two adjacent microparticles, which can provide insight for the noise analysis in the quantum gravity-induced entanglement of masses (QGEM) protocol and the c-not gate: we compute the dephasing due to a gas of environmental particles interacting via dipole-dipole and charge-charge couplings, respectively. To obtain simple analytical dephasing formulas, we employ uniform probability distributions for the impact parameter and for the angles characterizing the relative orientation with respect to the interferometer and a Gaussian distribution for the velocities of the environmental particles. In both cases, we show that the dephasing rate grows with the number density of particles present in the vacuum chamber, as expected.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.110.022412

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Matter-wave interferometers with microparticles will enable the next generation of quantum sensors to probe minute quantum phase information. Therefore, estimating the loss of coherence and the degree of entanglement degradation for such interferometers is essential. In this paper, we provide a noise analysis in frequency-space focusing on electromagnetic sources of dephasing. We assume that our matter-wave interferometer has a residual charge or dipole which can interact with a neighboring particle in the ambience. We investigate the dephasing due to the Coulomb, charge-induced dipole, charge-permanent dipole, and dipole-dipole interactions. All these interactions constitute electromagnetically driven dephasing channels that can affect single or multiple interferometers. As an example, we apply the obtained formulas to situations with two adjacent microparticles, which can provide insight for the noise analysis in the quantum gravity-induced entanglement of masses (QGEM) protocol and the c-not gate: we compute the dephasing due to a gas of environmental particles interacting via dipole-dipole and charge-charge couplings, respectively. To obtain simple analytical dephasing formulas, we employ uniform probability distributions for the impact parameter and for the angles characterizing the relative orientation with respect to the interferometer and a Gaussian distribution for the velocities of the environmental particles. In both cases, we show that the dephasing rate grows with the number density of particles present in the vacuum chamber, as expected.
Matter-wave interferometry with nanoparticles will enable the development of quantum sensors capable of probing ultraweak fields with unprecedented applications for fundamental physics. The high sensitivity of such devices, however. makes them susceptible to several noise and decoherence sources and, as such, can operate only when sufficient isolation from the environment is achieved. It is thus imperative to model and characterize the interaction of nanoparticles with the environment and to estimate its deleterious effects. This paper will aim to study the decoherence of the matter-wave interferometer due to dipole-dipole interactions, which is one of the unavoidable channels for decoherence, even for a neutral micro-crystal. We will use the scattering model for decoherence, characterized by the differential cross section, in order to obtain simple expressions for the decoherence rate due to dipole-dipole interactions in the short- and long-wavelength limits that can be readily applied to estimate the available coherence time. We will conclude by applying the formulas we obtained to estimate the dipole-dipole decoherence rate for the quantum gravity-induced entanglement of masses protocol and discuss if the effects should be mitigated.
Matter-wave interferometry is susceptible to noninertial noise sources, which can induce dephasing and a resulting loss of interferometric visibility. Here, we focus on inertial torsion noise (ITN), which arises from the rotational motion of the experimental apparatus suspended by a thin wire and subject to random external torques. We provide analytical expressions for the ITN noise starting from generalized Langevin equations describing the experimental box, which can then be used together with the transfer function to obtain the dephasing factor. We verify the theoretical modeling and the validity of the approximations using Monte Carlo simulations, obtaining good agreement between theory and numerics. As an application, we estimate the size of the effects for the next generation of interferometry experiments with femtogram particles, which could be used as the building block for entanglement-based tests of the quantum nature of gravity. We find that the ambient gas is a weak source of ITN, posing mild restrictions on the ambient pressure and temperature. We discuss the general ITN constraints by assuming a Langevin equation parametrized by three phenomenological parameters.
We review different attempts to show the decoherence process in double-slit-like experiments both for charged particles (electrons) and for neutral particles with permanent dipole moments. Interference is studied when electrons or atomic systems are coupled to classical or quantum electromagnetic fields. The interaction between the particles and time-dependent fields induces a time-varying Aharonov phase. Averaging over the phase generates a suppression of fringe visibility in the interference pattern. We show that, for suitable experimental conditions, the loss of contrast for dipoles can be almost as large as the corresponding one for coherent electrons and therefore can be observed. We analyse different trajectories in order to show the dependence of the decoherence factor on the velocity of the particles.
Matter-wave interferometry is highly susceptible to inertial acceleration noises arising from the vibration of the experimental apparatus. There are various methods for noise suppression. In this paper, we propose leveraging the cross-correlation of multidirectional vibration noises to mitigate their dephasing effect in matter-wave interferometers. Specifically, we analyze an interferometer driven by its internal state under an external field and examine the dephasing caused by a two-dimensional random inertial force. As we will demonstrate, the coupling between the two-dimensional inertial force noise components will shift the resonance peak but not change the shape of the power spectral density. Moreover, when the noise approximately resonates with the intrinsic frequency of the test mass, we find that the standard deviation of the phase can be suppressed by a factor roughly equal to the Q factor of the noise. This technique holds significant potential for future gravity experiments utilizing quantum sensors, such as measuring gravitational acceleration and exploring quantum entanglement induced by gravity.
Matter-wave interferometry is highly susceptible to inertial acceleration noises arising from the vibration of the experimental apparatus. There are various methods for noise suppression. In this paper, we propose leveraging the cross-correlation of multi-directional vibration noises to mitigate their dephasing effect in matter-wave interferometers. Specifically, we analyse an interferometer driven by its internal state under an external field and examine the dephasing caused by a two-dimensional random inertial force. As we will demonstrate, the coupling between the two-dimensional inertial force noise components will shift the resonance peak but not change the shape of the power spectral density. Moreover, when the noise approximately resonates with the intrinsic frequency of the test mass, we find that the standard deviation of the phase can be suppressed by a factor roughly equal to the Q-factor of the noise. This technique holds significant potential for future gravity experiments utilising quantum sensors, such as measuring gravitational acceleration and exploring quantum entanglement induced by gravity.
Matter-wave interferometry is a highly sensitive tool to measure small perturbations in a quantum system.This property allows the creation of precision sensors for dephasing mechanisms such as mechanical vibrations.They are a challenge for phase measurements under perturbing conditions that cannot be perfectly decoupled from the interferometer, e.g.for mobile interferometric devices or vibrations with a broad frequency range.Here, we demonstrate a method based on second-order correlation theory in combination with Fourier analysis, to use an electron interferometer as a sensor that precisely characterizes the mechanical vibration spectrum of the interferometer.Using the high spatial and temporal single-particle resolution of a delay line detector, the data allows to reveal the original contrast and spatial periodicity of the interference pattern from 'washed-out' matter-wave interferograms that have been vibrationally disturbed in the frequency region between 100 and 1000 Hz.Other than with electromagnetic dephasing, due to excitations of higher harmonics and additional frequencies induced from the environment, the parts in the setup oscillate with frequencies that can be different to the applied ones.The developed numerical search algorithm is capable to determine those unknown oscillations and corresponding amplitudes.The technique can identify vibrational dephasing and decrease damping and shielding requirements in electron, ion, neutron, atom and molecule interferometers that generate a spatial fringe pattern on the detector plane.