Proposal for a Quantum Delayed-Choice Experiment with Massive Mechanical Resonators

Wei Qin, Adam Miranowicz, Guilu Long, J. Q. You, Franco Nori

Published 2018-07-09Version 1

We present and analyze an experimentally-feasible implementation of a macroscopic quantum delayed-choice experiment to test a quantum wave-particle superposition on massive mechanical resonators. In our approach, the electronic spin of a single nitrogen-vacancy impurity is employed to control the coherent coupling between the mechanical modes of two carbon nanotubes. We demonstrate that a mechanical phonon can be in a coherent superposition of wave and particle, thus exhibiting both behaviors at the same time. Furthermore, we discuss the mechanical noise tolerable in our proposal and predict a critical temperature below which the morphing between wave and particle states can be effectively observed in the presence of environment-induced fluctuations.