Researchers are attempting to use a several-decades-old technique called “laser trapping”, as a step toward reliably imparting a quantum state on a particle suspended in a laser beam. They suspect that this unintentional levitation has impacted the performance of SRF cavity components. They think they have already unintentionally levitated unwanted and rare nanoparticles of metal, such as niobium and iron, inside SRF cavities during particle accelerator operations. The idea for this project came from observations of accelerator experts. “We want to know if we can trap and levitate particles inside the cavity using the electric field.” Exploring the Quantum with Accelerator Cavities “Storing quantum information on a levitated nanoparticle is our ultimate goal, but for now, it is a proof of principle experiment,” said Pashupati Dhakal, another principal investigator on the project and a staff scientist at Jefferson Lab in the Accelerator Operations, Research and Development Division. If the project team is able to levitate a particle, they might be able to then impart a quantum state on it by cooling the trapped particle to its lowest possible energy level (because that’s when quantum properties occur).
This is a line drawing of an accelerator cavity that will be used in a proof of principle project that aims to levitate a tiny metallic particle, allowing it to store quantum information.
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