Quantum Computation and Information Seminar 

18/11/2005, 15:00 — 16:00 — Room P4.35, Mathematics Building
Markus Arndt, U Vienna

Experimental exploration of the quantum/classical transition

Quantum mechanics is one of the best confirmed theories of nature. Still - in contrast to all other theories - it requires an interpretation and it exhibits features which seem to contradict common sense and even classical logic. It is sometimes argued that quantum physics applies to the microcosmos while classical physics holds in our macroworld. We will discuss experiments which try to approach the mesoscopic and macroscopic world from below - studying matter wave interference with particles of increasing size and complexity. The experiments also show that quantum physics itself is an important key to the classical appearance of our everyday world - as entanglement with the environment destroys the isolation of the individual quantum systems and renders the particula quantum features unobservable. Although the present research on molecule interferometry is focused on illucidating fundamental issues of quantum physics we also identify several applied research directions using molecular matter waves.