J. Yang, T. E. Agrenius Gustafsson, V. Usova, O. Romero-Isart, G. Kirchmair Hot Schrödinger Cat States,
Sci. Adv. 11 (2025-04-04),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adr4492 doi:10.1126/sciadv.adr4492 (ID: 721262)
Toggle Abstract
The observation of quantum phenomena often necessitates sufficiently pure states, a requirement that can be challenging to achieve. In this study, our goal is to prepare a non-classical state originating from a mixed state, utilizing dynamics that preserve the initial low purity of the state. We generate a quantum superposition of displaced thermal states within a microwave cavity using only unitary interactions with a transmon qubit. We measure the Wigner functions of these ``hot'' Schrödinger cat states for an initial purity as low as 0.06. This corresponds to a cavity mode temperature of up to 1.8 Kelvin, sixty times hotter than the cavity's physical environment. Our realization of highly mixed quantum superposition states could be implemented with other continuous-variable systems e.g. nanomechanical oscillators, for which ground-state cooling remains challenging.