Quantum coherent dissipation: a glimpse of the "cat"

Area of Science:

• Quantum mechanics
• Solid-state physics
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Vibrational relaxation is crucial for understanding energy transfer in solids.
• Quantum coherence effects are typically fragile and difficult to observe in condensed matter systems.
• Impurities in solid hosts can modify local vibrational properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate and investigate quantum coherent vibrational relaxation.
• To probe the nature of coherence in the vibrational bath of a solid host.
• To identify macroscopic quantum phenomena in condensed matter.

Main Methods:

• Utilized four-wave mixing spectroscopy.
• Studied an impurity strongly coupled to its solid host.
• Analyzed relaxation dynamics to infer bath properties.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated quantum coherent vibrational relaxation.
• Provided evidence for sustained coherence within the vibrational bath.
• Identified the coherence as a superposition of macroscopically distinct states.

Conclusions:

• Quantum coherence plays a significant role in vibrational relaxation processes for impurities in solids.
• The observed coherence suggests the presence of macroscopic quantum states in the condensed phase.
• Four-wave mixing is a powerful technique for revealing subtle quantum phenomena in solids.