dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaQuantum interference with molecules: The role of internal states
| Authors | Mark Hillery, Leonard Mlodinow, Vladimir Buzek |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0502156 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0502156 |
| DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevA.71.062103 |
Abstract
Recent experiments have shown that fullerene and fluorofullerene molecules can produce interference patterns. These molecules have both rotational and vibrational degrees of freedom. This leads one to ask whether these internal motions can play a role in degrading the interference pattern. We study this by means of a simple model. Our molecule consists of two masses a fixed distance apart. It scatters from a potential with two or several peaks, thereby mimicking two or several slit interference. We find that in some parameter regimes the entanglement between the internal states and the translational degrees of freedom produced by the potential can decrease the visibility of the interference pattern. In particular, different internal states correspond to different outgoing wave vectors, so that if several internal states are excited, the total interference pattern will be the sum of a number of patterns, each with a different periodicity. The overall pattern is consequently smeared out. In the case of two different peaks, the scattering from the different peaks will excite different internal states so that the path the molecule takes become entangled with its internal state. This will also lead to degradation of the interference pattern. How these mechanisms might lead to the emergence of classical behavior is discussed.
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"abstract": "Recent experiments have shown that fullerene and fluorofullerene molecules\ncan produce interference patterns. These molecules have both rotational and\nvibrational degrees of freedom. This leads one to ask whether these internal\nmotions can play a role in degrading the interference pattern. We study this by\nmeans of a simple model. Our molecule consists of two masses a fixed distance\napart. It scatters from a potential with two or several peaks, thereby\nmimicking two or several slit interference. We find that in some parameter\nregimes the entanglement between the internal states and the translational\ndegrees of freedom produced by the potential can decrease the visibility of the\ninterference pattern. In particular, different internal states correspond to\ndifferent outgoing wave vectors, so that if several internal states are\nexcited, the total interference pattern will be the sum of a number of\npatterns, each with a different periodicity. The overall pattern is\nconsequently smeared out. In the case of two different peaks, the scattering\nfrom the different peaks will excite different internal states so that the path\nthe molecule takes become entangled with its internal state. This will also\nlead to degradation of the interference pattern. How these mechanisms might\nlead to the emergence of classical behavior is discussed.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0502156",
"authors": [
"Mark Hillery",
"Leonard Mlodinow",
"Vladimir Buzek"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1103/PhysRevA.71.062103",
"title": "Quantum interference with molecules: The role of internal states",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0502156"
},
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