Dissipative optomechanical preparation of macroscopic quantum superposition states

  1. M. Abdi,
  2. P. Degenfeld-Schonburg,
  3. M. Sameti,
  4. C. Navarrete-Benlloch,
  5. and M. J. Hartmann
The transition from quantum to classical physics remains an intensely debated question even though it has been investigated for more than a century. Further clarifications could be
obtained by preparing macroscopic objects in spatial quantum superpositions and proposals for generating such states for nano-mechanical devices either in a transient or a probabilistic fashion have been put forward. Here we introduce a method to deterministically obtain spatial superpositions of arbitrary lifetime via dissipative state preparation. In our approach, we engineer a double-well potential for the motion of the mechanical element and drive it towards the ground state, which shows the desired spatial superposition, via optomechanical sideband cooling. We propose a specific implementation based on a superconducting circuit coupled to the mechanical motion of a lithium-decorated monolayer graphene sheet, introduce a method to verify the mechanical state by coupling it to a superconducting qubit, and discuss its prospects for testing collapse models for the quantum to classical transition.