We are building an experiment in which a nitrogen-vacancy-centre electron spin would be used to put a levitated nanodiamond into a spatial quantum superposition [1-3]. This would be able to test theories of spontaneous wavefunction collapse and is the first step of a much more ambitious experiment to test if gravitational effects can be in a quantum superposition [4, 5]. This talk will describe our current experimental design [6-11], and our latest experimental progress: the first steps on a long journey. [1]A. T. M. A. Rahman, A. C. Frangeskou, M. S. Kim, S. Bose, G. W. Morley & P. F. Barker, Sci. Rep. 6, 21633 (2016). [2]A. T. M. A. Rahman, A. C. Frangeskou, P. F. Barker & G. W. Morley, RSI 89, 023109 (2018). [3]A. C. Frangeskou, A. T. M. A. Rahman, L. Gines, S. Mandal, O. A. Williams, P. F. Barker & G. W. Morley, NJP 20, 043016 (2018). [4]S. Bose, A. Mazumdar, G. W. Morley, H. Ulbricht, M. Toroš, M. Paternostro, A. A. Geraci, P. F. Barker, M. S. Kim & G. Milburn, PRL 119, 240401 (2017). [5]C. Marletto & V. Vedral, PRL 119, 240402 (2017). [6]S. Bose & G. W. Morley, arXiv:1810.07045 (2018). [7]M. Scala, M. S. Kim, G. W. Morley, P. F. Barker & S. Bose, PRL 111, 180403 (2013). [8]C. Wan, M. Scala, G. W. Morley, A. T. M. A. Rahman, H. Ulbricht, J. Bateman, P. F. Barker, S. Bose & M. S. Kim, PRL 117, 143003 (2016). [9]J. S. Pedernales, G. W. Morley & M. B. Plenio, PRL 125, 023602 (2020). [10] R. J. Marshman, A. Mazumdar, G. W. Morley, P. F. Barker, S. Hoekstra & S. Bose, NJP 22, 083012 (2020). [11] Z.-q. Yin, T. Li, X. Zhang & L. M. Duan, PRA 88, 033614 (2013). |
