Revealing the Emergence of Classicality Using Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers.

Area of Science:

• Quantum Physics
• Quantum Information Science
• Condensed Matter Physics

Background:

• The emergence of classical reality from a quantum substrate is a fundamental unresolved question in physics.
• Quantum Darwinism proposes that the environment selects and amplifies information about preferred quantum states, leading to objectivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally investigate the process of quantum Darwinism.
• To verify how redundant information imprinted on the environment contributes to the emergence of classical objectivity.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond as the quantum system (S).
• Employed a novel dynamical decoupling scheme to control and measure the interacting nuclear spin environment (E) of carbon-13 atoms.
• Monitored the decoherence of the system and the imprinting of information onto the environment.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated the redundant imprinting of information about the system's state onto the nuclear spin environment during decoherence.
• Observed the emergence of incipient classical objectivity, characterized by a consensus recorded in the environment.
• Provided the first laboratory verification of quantum Darwinism's role in classical reality formation.

Conclusions:

• The experiment confirms that quantum Darwinism provides a mechanism for the emergence of classical objectivity from quantum mechanics.
• Redundant information in the environment, accessible independently, underpins our perception of an objective classical world.
• This work bridges the gap between quantum phenomena and classical experience.