7:30 pm, Wednesday, Feb 12, 2014
Fairmont Lounge, St. John's College

Schroedinger's Mirrors: Confronting Quantum Physics with Gravity

Marcus Aspelmeyer

Recent experiments around the world have now demonstrated the first steps into the quantum regime of massive mechanical objects. This opens the door to a hitherto untested parameter regime of macroscopic quantum physics. Due to the large available mass range -- from picograms in nanomechanical waveguides to kilograms in mirrors for gravitational wave detection -- it becomes possible to explore the fascinating interface between quantum physics and gravity in table-top quantum optics experiments. This means that it will finally be possible, in earth-based physics labs, to confront the 2 great theories of physics - Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, and Quantum Mechanics.

Additional resources for this talk: slides and video.