Schrödinger Cat States of a 16-Microgram Mechanical Oscillator

Explore groundbreaking research in quantum physics through this lecture where ETH Zürich Assistant Professor Yiwen Chu presents experimental work on creating Schrödinger cat states in a mechanical resonator with a 16-microgram effective mass. Learn about the fundamental question of why macroscopic quantum superpositions are not commonly observed and discover how the research team used resonant Jaynes-Cummings interaction between a resonator mode and superconducting qubit to demonstrate the evolution of mechanical coherent states into superpositions of distinct states in phase space. Understand the potential applications of this research in continuous variable quantum information processing and investigations of quantum mechanics in massive systems. The lecture is delivered by Dr. Chu, who leads the Hybrid Quantum Systems Group at ETH Zürich, bringing expertise from her academic journey through MIT, Harvard, and Yale before establishing her research group in Zürich in 2019.