Tomography of entangled macroscopic mechanical objects

Shlomi Kotler
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Observing quantum mechanics at the macroscopic scale has captured both the attention of scientists and the imagination of the public for more than a century. Although quantum mechanics presumably applies to objects of all sizes, directly observing entanglement becomes harder as masses increase, requiring measurement and control with a vanishingly small error. Here, using pulsed electromechanics, we deterministically entangle two mechanical drumheads with masses of ~ 70 picograms. Through nearly quantum-limited measurements of the position and momentum quadratures of both drums, we perform quantum state tomography and thereby directly observe entanglement.

Reference: Kotler et. al. Science 372, 622-625 (2021)