Coherent inflation for large quantum superpositions of levitated microspheres

Abstract

We show that coherent inflation (CI), namely quantum dynamics generated by inverted conservative potentials acting on the center of mass of a massive object, is an enabling tool to prepare large spatial quantum superpositions in a double-slit experiment. Combined with cryogenic, extreme high vacuum, and low-vibration environments, we argue that it is experimentally feasible to exploit CI to prepare the center of mass of a micrometer-sized object in a spatial quantum superposition comparable to its size. In such a hitherto unexplored parameter regime gravitationally-induced decoherence could be unambiguously falsified. We present a protocol to implement CI in a double-slit experiment by letting a levitated microsphere traverse a static potential landscape. Such a protocol could be experimentally implemented with an all-magnetic scheme using superconducting microspheres.