Mesoscopic Mechanical Resonators as Quantum Non-Inertial Reference Frames

TL;DR

This paper explores the use of mesoscopic vibrating wires as quantum non-inertial reference frames in atom interferometry, demonstrating potential for measurable phase shifts and quantum effects in extreme acceleration regimes.

Contribution

It introduces a model of a vibrating wire as a quantum non-inertial reference frame and proposes a feasible experimental setup using superfluid helium for atom interferometry.

Findings

Vibrating wire induces measurable phase shifts in atom interferometers.

Modeling the wire as a quantum object reveals quantum non-inertial effects.

Proposes a superfluid helium-based experimental realization.

Abstract

An atom attached to a micrometer-scale wire that is vibrating at a frequency of 100 MHz and with displacement amplitude 1 nm experiences an acceleration magnitude 10^9 ms^-2, approaching the surface gravity of a neutron star. As one application of such extreme non-inertial forces in a mesoscopic setting, we consider a model two-path atom interferometer with one path consisting of the 100 MHz vibrating wire atom guide. The vibrating wire guide serves as a non-inertial reference frame and induces an in principle measurable phase shift in the wave function of an atom traversing the wire frame. We furthermore consider the effect on the two-path atom wave interference when the vibrating wire is modeled as a quantum object, hence functioning as a quantum non-inertial reference frame. We outline a possible realization of the vibrating wire, atom interferometer using a superfluid helium quantum interference setup.