Direct test of the quantum statistics theorem using well-separated indistinguishable particles
Abstract
The proposed work aims to observe interference between two ions when exchanged. The ions will be separated by several micrometers such that the single-particle wavefunctions do not overlap. This will allow for an extraordinarily clean test of the spin-statistics theorem which states that exchanging identical bosons (fermions) leads to a phase factor of 1 (-1). For the experiment, a light pulse will create a superposition of a two-ion string rotating with different angular velocities. One expects that applying a second light pulse when the relative orientation of the individual superposition states has been inverted leads to an interference pattern from which the exchange phase can be extracted. These experiments would expand observation of spin-statistics from the nanometer scale to the micrometer scale. At the same time, the quantum states of the test objects (the ions) can be controlled to a high degree opening the path towards studying in detail under which circumstances two identical particles are indistinguishable. Key requirement is to maintain coherence during the exchange. Thus decoherence of the rotational degree-of-freedom due to environmental electric field noise needs to be reduced by about an order of magnitude. This will be achieved by increasing the confinement for the trapped ion string from 800 to 2,500-kHz thereby reducing the quadrupole moment of the ion string significantly while at the same time speeding up the exchange process. This is a fundamental research project that is not expected to produce any developmental items. Should any developmental items result from this work they will have both civilian and military applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 06, 2024
- Source ID
- FA95502310546
Entities
People
- Hartmut Haeffner
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of California Regents