Observation of micro-macro entanglement of light

Abstract

Schrödinger's famous thought experiment involves a (macroscopic) cat whose quantum state becomes entangled with that of a (microscopic) decaying nucleus. The creation of such micro-macro entanglement is being pursued in several fields, including atomic ensembles, superconducting circuits, electro-mechanical and opto-mechanical systems. Here we experimentally demonstrate the micro-macro entanglement of light. The macro system involves over a hundred million photons, whereas the micro system is at the single-photon level. We show that microscopic quantum fluctuations (in field quadrature measurements) on one side are correlated with macroscopic fluctuations (in the photon number statistics) on the other side. Further, we demonstrate entanglement by bringing the macroscopic state back to the single-photon level and performing full quantum state tomography of the final state. Although Schrödinger's thought experiment was originally intended to convey the absurdity of applying quantum mechanics to macroscopic objects, this experiment and related ones suggest that it may apply on all scales. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited.