# Testing macroscopic local realism using cat-states and Bell inequalities in time

## TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to test macroscopic local realism using Bell inequalities with measurements distinguishing between two macroscopically distinct states, demonstrating violations with entangled bosonic states and coherent states.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to test macroscopic local realism through time-based Bell inequalities and demonstrates violations with entangled states of large systems.

## Key findings

- N-scopic Bell violations predicted for up to 20 bosons
- Violation of M-scopic local realism for large coherent states
- System evolution involves local nonlinear interactions

## Abstract

We show how one may test macroscopic local realism where, different from conventional Bell tests, all relevant measurements need only distinguish between two macroscopically distinct states of the system being measured. Here, measurements give macroscopically distinguishable outcomes for a system observable and do not resolve microscopic properties (of order $\hbar$). Macroscopic local realism assumes: (1) macroscopic realism (the system prior to measurement is in a state which will lead to just one of the macroscopically distinguishable outcomes) and (2) macroscopic locality (a measurement on a system at one location cannot affect the macroscopic outcome of the measurement on a system at another location, if the measurement events are spacelike separated). To obtain a quantifiable test, we define $M$-scopic local realism where the outcomes are separated by an amount $\sim M$. We first show for $N$ up to $20$ that $N$-scopic Bell violations are predicted for entangled superpositions of $N$ bosons (at each of two sites). Secondly, we show violation of $M$-scopic local realism for entangled superpositions of coherent states of amplitude $\alpha$, for arbitrarily large $M=\alpha$. In both cases, the systems evolve dynamically according to a local nonlinear interaction. The first uses nonlinear beam splitters realised through nonlinear Josephson interactions; the second is based on nonlinear Kerr interactions. To achieve the Bell violations, the traditional choice between two spin measurement settings is replaced by a choice between different times of evolution at each site.