Quantum superposition : counterintuitive consequences of coherence, entanglement, and interference / Mark P. Silverman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Silverman, Mark P.

Series:

Frontiers collection

Frontiers collection, 1612-3018

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Superposition principle (Physics).

Quantum theory.

Physical Description:

xiii, 378 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Berlin : Springer, [2008]

Summary:

Coherence, entanglement, and interference arise from quantum superposition, the most distinctive and puzzling feature of quantum physics. Silverman, whose extensive experimental and theoretical work has helped elucidate these processes, presents a clear and engaging discussion of the role of quantum superposition in diverse quantum phenomena such as the wavelike nature of particle propagation, indistinguishability of identical particles, nonlocal interactions of correlated particles, topological effects of magnetic fields, and chiral asymmetry in nature. He also examines how macroscopic quantum coherence may be able to extricate physics from its most challenging quandary, the collapse of a massive degenerate star to a singularity in space in which the laws of physics break down.

Explained by a physicist with a concern for clarity and experimental achievability, the extraordinary nature of quantum superposition will fascinate the reader not only for its apparent strangeness, but also for its comprehensibility.

Contents:

1 The Enigma of Quantum Interference 1

1.1 The Most Beautiful Experiment 1

1.2 Two-Slit Interference of Single Electron Wave Packets 3

1.3 Confined Fields and Electron Interference 11

1.4 'No-Slit' Interference of Single Photons: Superposition, Probability, and Understanding 22

1.5 Macroscale Objects in Quantum Superpositions 27

1.6 Quantum Mechanics and Relativity: The 'Wrong-Choice' Experiment 38

2 Correlations and Entanglements I: Fluctuations of Light and Particles 45

2.1 Ghostly Correlations of Entangled States 45

2.2 A Dance of Correlated Fluctuations. The 'Hanbury Brown Twiss' 54

2.3 Measurable Distinctions Between Quantum Ensembles 60

2.4 Correlated Emission from Coherently Excited Atoms 65

2.5 The Quantum Optical Perspective 70

2.6 Coherence of Thermal Electrons 77

2.7 Comparison of Thermal Electrons and Thermal Radiation 86

2.8 Brighter Than a Million Suns: Electron Beams from Atom-Size Sources 88

2.9 Correlations and Coincidences: Experimental Possibilities 100

2A Consequences of Spectral Width on Photon Correlations 106

2B Chemical Potential at T = 0 K 107

2C Probability Density of a Sum of Random Variables 108

2D Correlated Fluctuations of Electrons at Two Detectors 109

3 Correlations and Entanglements II: Interferometry of Correlated Particles 111

3.1 Interferometry of Correlated Particles 111

3.2 The Aharonov-Bohm (AB) Effect with Entangled Electrons 112

3.3 Hanbury Brown-Twiss Correlations of Entangled Electrons 118

3.4 Correlated Particles in a Mach-Zender Interferometer 122

4 Quantum Boosts and Quantum Beats 135

4.1 Superposing Pathways in Time 135

4.2 Laser-Generated Quantum Beats 139

4.3 Nonlinear Effects in a Three-Level Atom 145

4.4 Quantum Beats in External Fields 155

4.5 Correlated Beats from Entangled States 159

5 Sympathetic Vibrations: The Atom in Resonant Fields 165

5.1 Beams, Bottles, and Resonance 165

5.2 The Two-Level Atom Looked at Two Ways 174

5.3 Oscillating Field Theory 182

5.4 Resonance and Interference: Tell-Tale Mark of a Quantum Jump 190

5.5 Quantum Interference in Separated Oscillating Fields 199

5.6 Ion Interferometry and Tests of Gauge Invariance 206

5A Oscillatory Field Solution to the Two-State Schrodinger Equation 214

5B Generalized Rotating Field Theory and Optically-Induced Ground State Coherence in a 3-State Atom 215

6 Symmetries and Insights: The Circulating Electron in Electromagnetic Fields 219

6.1 Broken Symmetry of the Charged Planar Rotator 219

6.2 The Planar Rotator in an Electric Field 222

6.3 The Planar Rotator in a Magnetic Field 233

6.4 The Planar Rotator in a Vector Potential Field 239

6.5 Fermions, Bosons, and Things In-Between 246

6.6 Quantum Interference in a Metal Ring 250

6A Magnetic Hamiltonian of the Two-Dimensional Rotator 254

7 Chiral Asymmetry: The Quantum Physics of Handedness 257

7.1 Optical Activity of Mirror-Image Molecules 257

7.2 Quantum Interference and Parity Conservation 262

7.3 Optical Activity of Rotating Matter 272

7.4 'Electron Activity' in a Chiral Medium 281

7.4.1 Longitudinal Polarization 285

7.4.2 Transverse Polarization 287

7.5 Chiral Light Reflection 290

7.6 Chirality in a Medium with Broken Symmetry 299

8 Condensates in the Cosmos: Quantum Stabilization of Degenerate Stars 307

8.1 Stellar End States 307

8.2 Quantum Properties of a Self-Gravitating Condensate 311

8.3 Quantum Properties of a Self-Gravitating System of Degenerate Fermions 314

8.4 Fermion Condensation in a Degenerate Star 320

8.5 Fermicon Stars vs Black Holes 333

8.6 Can Ultra-Strong Magnetic Fields Prevent Collapse? 335

8.7 Gravitationally-Induced Particle Resorption into the Vacuum 340

8A Gravitational Binding Energy of a Uniform Sphere of Matter 346

8B Stability in a Self-Gravitating System with Negative Pressure 347

8C Quark Deconfinement in a Neutron Star 349

8D Energy Balance in the Creation of the Universe 353

8E Particle Resorption in a Schwarzschild Geometry 355.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [362]-374) and index.

ISBN:

9783540718833

3540718834

9783540718840

3540718842

OCLC:

218180035