Towards an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox between two macroscopic atomic ensembles at room temperature

Q Y He, M D Reid

Published 2013-10-28Version 1

Experiments have reported the entanglement of two spatially separated macroscopic atomic ensembles at room temperature (Krauter et al 2011 Phys. Rev. Lett. 107 080503; Julsgaard et al 2001 Nature 413 400). We show how an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox is realizable with this experiment. Our proposed test involves violation of an inferred Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which is a sufficient condition for an EPR paradox. This is a stronger test of nonlocality than entanglement. Our proposal would enable the first definitive confirmation of quantum EPR paradox correlations between two macroscopic objects at room temperature. This is a necessary intermediate step towards a nonlocal experiment with causal measurement separations. As well as having fundamental significance, the realization of an atomic EPR paradox could provide a resource for novel applications in quantum technology.