In
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
, quantum acoustics is the study of
sound
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' b ...
under conditions such that
quantum mechanical effects are relevant. For most applications,
classical mechanics
Classical mechanics is a physical theory describing the motion of macroscopic objects, from projectiles to parts of machinery, and astronomical objects, such as spacecraft, planets, stars, and galaxies. For objects governed by classi ...
are sufficient to accurately describe the physics of sound. However very high frequency sounds, or sounds made at very low temperatures may be subject to quantum effects.
Quantum acoustics can also refer to attempts within the scientific community to couple
superconducting qubits to acoustic waves. One particularly successful method involves coupling a superconducting qubit with a
Surface Acoustic Wave
A surface acoustic wave (SAW) is an acoustic wave traveling along the surface of a material exhibiting elasticity, with an amplitude that typically decays exponentially with depth into the material, such that they are confined to a depth of about ...
(SAW) Resonator and placing these components on different substrates to achieve a higher signal to noise ratio as well as controlling the coupling strength of the components. This allows quantum experiments to verify that the phonons within the SAW Resonator are in quantum
fock states by using
Quantum tomography
Quantum tomography or quantum state tomography is the process by which a quantum state is reconstructed using measurements on an ensemble of identical quantum states. The source of these states may be any device or system which prepares quantum st ...
. Similar attempts have been made by using bulk acoustic resonators. One consequence of these developments is that it is possible to explore the properties of atoms with a much larger size than found conventionally by modelling them using a superconducting qubit coupled with a SAW Resonator.
See also
*
Superfluid
Superfluidity is the characteristic property of a fluid with zero viscosity which therefore flows without any loss of kinetic energy. When stirred, a superfluid forms vortices that continue to rotate indefinitely. Superfluidity occurs in two ...
*
Phonon
References
External links
*{{cite journal , last1=Maris , first1=Humphrey J. , year=2012 , doi=10.1036/1097-8542.562350 , title=Quantum acoustics , journal=AccessScience , publisher=McGraw-Hill Education
*''Handbook of Acoustics'' by ''Malcolm Crocker'' has a chapter on quantum acoustics.
Condensed matter physics