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How to build a quantum Newton's cradle

Tushna Commissariat, Roberto Franzosi, Ruggero Vaia

Published Jan 1, 2014• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

A quantum analogue of the popular "Newton's cradle" toy has been proposed by a duo of physicists in Italy. Like momentum transferred in the toy, the team argues that it should be possible to achieve the nearly perfect transmission of a quantum wavefunction along a line of ultracold atoms in a 1D Bose-Einstein condensate. According to the pair, the work could help develop quantum-information systems that achieve high-quality wave transmission. Best described as an "executive desk toy", a Newton's cradle is a device that demonstrates the conservation of energy and momentum. It consists of small, identically sized metal balls suspended from two horizontal bars. When a ball is lifted and allowed to fall, it strikes its immediate neighbour and comes to a stop. But its momentum is transferred across the rest of the spheres and propels only the sphere at the opposite end of the line into the air.

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Newton's cradle analogue with Bose–Einstein condensates

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We propose a possible experimental realization of a quantum analogue of Newton's cradle using a configuration which starts from a Bose–Einstein condensate. The system consists of atoms with two internal states trapped in a one-dimensional tube with a longitudinal optical lattice and maintained in a strong Tonks–Girardeau regime at maximal filling. In each site the wave-function is a superposition of the two atomic states and a disturbance of the wave-function propagates along the chain in analogy with the propagation of momentum in the classical Newton cradle. The quantum travelling signal is generally deteriorated by dispersion, which is large for a uniform chain and is known to be zero for a suitably engineered chain, but the latter is hardly realizable in practice. Starting from these opposite situations we show how the coherent behaviour can be enhanced with minimal experimental effort.

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•Jan 1, 2021•0 citations
A quantum analogue of the popular "Newton's cradle" toy has been proposed by a duo of physicists in Italy. Like momentum transferred in the toy, the team argues that it should be possible to achieve the nearly perfect transmission of a quantum wavefunction along a line of ultracold atoms in a 1D Bose-Einstein condensate. According to the pair, the work could help develop quantum-information systems that achieve high-quality wave transmission. Best described as an "executive desk toy", a Newton's cradle is a device that demonstrates the conservation of energy and momentum. It consists of small, identically sized metal balls suspended from two horizontal bars. When a ball is lifted and allowed to fall, it strikes its immediate neighbour and comes to a stop. But its momentum is transferred across the rest of the spheres and propels only the sphere at the opposite end of the line into the air.
We propose a possible experimental realization of a quantum analogue of Newton's cradle using a configuration which starts from a Bose–Einstein condensate. The system consists of atoms with two internal states trapped in a one-dimensional tube with a longitudinal optical lattice and maintained in a strong Tonks–Girardeau regime at maximal filling. In each site the wave-function is a superposition of the two atomic states and a disturbance of the wave-function propagates along the chain in analogy with the propagation of momentum in the classical Newton cradle. The quantum travelling signal is generally deteriorated by dispersion, which is large for a uniform chain and is known to be zero for a suitably engineered chain, but the latter is hardly realizable in practice. Starting from these opposite situations we show how the coherent behaviour can be enhanced with minimal experimental effort.
We show that when two quantum-mechanical particles of the same mass, interacting through a hard-core repulsive potential, collide in one dimension, they exchange their wavefunctions, making them look as if they had passed through each other. We give a simple explanation of this phenomenon, and compare to its classical analog, which can be demonstrated using the “Newton's cradle” toy. We also consider briefly what happens when the masses are unequal, showing how entanglement arises in this case.
A Yale-led group of researchers has derived a formula for understanding where quantum objects land when they are transmitted. [16] The scheme is based on the ideas of physicist David J. Thouless, who won half the 2016 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on topological effects in materials. Topological effects are to do with geometry, and their use in quantum computing can help protect fragile quantum states during processing. [15] Now a researcher and his team at Tyndall National Institute in Cork have made a 'quantum leap' by developing a technical step that could enable the use of quantum computers sooner than expected. [14] A method to produce significant amounts of semiconducting nanoparticles for light-emitting displays, sensors, solar panels and biomedical applications has gained momentum with a demonstration by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [13] A source of single photons that meets three important criteria for use in quantum-information systems has been unveiled in China by an international team of physicists. Based on a quantum dot, the device is an efficient source of photons that emerge as solo particles that are indistinguishable from each other. The researchers are now trying to use the source to create a quantum computer based on boson sampling. [11] With the help of a semiconductor quantum dot, physicists at the University of Basel have developed a new type of light source that emits single photons. For the first time, the researchers have managed to create a stream of identical photons. [10] Optical photons would be ideal carriers to transfer quantum information over large distances. Researchers envisage a network where information is processed in certain nodes and transferred between them via photons. [9] While physicists are continually looking for ways to unify the theory of relativity, which describes large-scale phenomena, with quantum theory, which describes small-scale phenomena, computer scientists are searching for technologies to build the quantum computer using Quantum Information. In August 2013, the achievement of fully deterministic quantum teleportation, using a hybrid technique, was reported. On 29 May 2014, scientists announced a reliable way of transferring data by quantum teleportation. Quantum teleportation of data had been done before but with highly unreliable methods. The accelerating electrons explain not only the Maxwell Equations and the Special Relativity, but the Heisenberg Uncertainty Relation, the Wave-Particle Duality and the electron's spin also, building the Bridge between the Classical and Quantum Theories. The Planck Distribution Law of the electromagnetic oscillators explains the electron/proton mass rate and the Weak and Strong Interactions by the diffraction patterns. The Weak Interaction changes the diffraction patterns by moving the electric charge from one side to the other side of the diffraction pattern, which violates the CP and Time reversal symmetry. The diffraction patterns and the locality of the self-maintaining electromagnetic potential explains also the Quantum Entanglement, giving it as a natural part of the Relativistic Quantum Theory and making possible to build the Quantum Computer with the help of Quantum Information.
Precise atom implants in silicon provide a first step toward practical quantum computers. [14] A method to produce significant amounts of semiconducting nanoparticles for light-emitting displays, sensors, solar panels and biomedical applications has gained momentum with a demonstration by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [13] A source of single photons that meets three important criteria for use in quantum-information systems has been unveiled in China by an international team of physicists. Based on a quantum dot, the device is an efficient source of photons that emerge as solo particles that are indistinguishable from each other. The researchers are now trying to use the source to create a quantum computer based on boson sampling. [11] With the help of a semiconductor quantum dot, physicists at the University of Basel have developed a new type of light source that emits single photons. For the first time, the researchers have managed to create a stream of identical photons. [10] Optical photons would be ideal carriers to transfer quantum information over large distances. Researchers envisage a network where information is processed in certain nodes and transferred between them via photons. [9] While physicists are continually looking for ways to unify the theory of relativity, which describes large-scale phenomena, with quantum theory, which describes small-scale phenomena, computer scientists are searching for technologies to build the quantum computer using Quantum Information. In August 2013, the achievement of fully deterministic quantum teleportation, using a hybrid technique, was reported. On 29 May 2014, scientists announced a reliable way of transferring data by quantum teleportation. Quantum teleportation of data had been done before but with highly unreliable methods. The accelerating electrons explain not only the Maxwell Equations and the Special Relativity, but the Heisenberg Uncertainty Relation, the Wave-Particle Duality and the electron's spin also, building the Bridge between the Classical and Quantum Theories. The Planck Distribution Law of the electromagnetic oscillators explains the electron/proton mass rate and the Weak and Strong Interactions by the diffraction patterns. The Weak Interaction changes the diffraction patterns by moving the electric charge from one side to the other side of the diffraction pattern, which violates the CP and Time reversal symmetry. The diffraction patterns and the locality of the self-maintaining electromagnetic potential explains also the Quantum Entanglement, giving it as a natural part of the Relativistic Quantum Theory and making possible to build the Quantum Computer with the help of Quantum Information.
Albert Einstein's insight that it is impossible to distinguish a local experiment in a "freely falling elevator" from one in free space led to the development of the theory of general relativity. The wave nature of matter manifests itself in a striking way in Bose-Einstein condensates, where millions of atoms lose their identity and can be described by a single macroscopic wave function. We combine these two topics and report the preparation and observation of a Bose-Einstein condensate during free fall in a 146-meter-tall evacuated drop tower. During the expansion over 1 second, the atoms form a giant coherent matter wave that is delocalized on a millimeter scale, which represents a promising source for matter-wave interferometry to test the universality of free fall with quantum matter.