Detecting macroscopic quantum coherence with a cavity optomechanical system

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that a cavity optomechanical system can exhibit macroscopic quantum coherence and proposes an experimentally feasible scheme to detect this coherence, linking it to mutual information and entanglement.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to detect macroscopic quantum coherence in optomechanical systems using a scheme related to entanglement detection.

Findings

Quantum coherence exists at a macroscopic scale in optomechanical systems.

The difference between total and individual coherences equals mutual information.

A feasible experimental scheme for coherence detection is proposed.

Abstract

The rigorous resource framework of quantum coherence has been set up recently and excited a wide variety of interests. Here we show that a quantum cavity optomechanical system, as an emerging platform, can behave with a certain value of quantum coherence at a macroscopic scale. We also find that the difference between the total optomechanical coherence and the sum of the optical and the mechanical coherence just equals their mutual information. Motivated by the detection of the optomechanical entanglement, an experimentally feasible scheme to probe the optomechanical coherence is proposed.