近日，美国斯坦福大学Amir H. Safavi-Naeini团队报道了声音的量子跃迁。
量子力学预言，振动物体的能量以离散包形式存在，但对其位置的任何测量都无法观测到这种离散性。分辨单个能级需要采用定性不同的测量方案：即耦合谐振子的能量，而非其位移。
研究组采用与纳米机械谐振器色散耦合的超导量子比特，对声子数开展重复量子非破坏性测量。借助对齐转移打印工艺集成量子比特与谐振器，该研究实现了T1=2.1 ms的机械寿命，以及每声子2χ/2π=328 kHz的色散频移。研究组以85%的保真度预测了单声子态，并观测到谐振子在第一激发态与基态之间的量子跃迁。这类不连续跃迁，正是量子力学在宏观振动物体上的显著体现。
附：英文原文
Title: Quantum jumps of sound
Author: Takuma Makihara, Erik Szakiel, Matthew P. Maksymowych, Oliver A. Hitchcock, Kaveh Pezeshki, Rachel G. Gruenke-Freudenstein, Mihir Pendharkar, Shannon P. Harvey, David I. Schuster, Amir H. Safavi-Naeini
Issue&Volume: 2026-09-17
Abstract: Quantum mechanics predicts that a vibrating object’s energy comes in discrete packets, yet no measurement of its position reveals this discreteness. Resolving individual energy levels requires a qualitatively different measurement, one coupling to the resonator’s energy rather than its displacement. We use a superconducting qubit dispersively coupled to a nanomechanical resonator to perform repeated quantum nondemolition measurements of the phonon number. An aligned transfer-print technique integrating the qubit and resonator yields a mechanical lifetime of T1=2.1
milliseconds and a dispersive shift of 2χ/2π=328
kilohertz per phonon. We heralded single-phonon states with 85% fidelity and observed quantum jumps between the resonator’s first excited state and ground state. These discontinuous transitions are a striking manifestation of quantum mechanics in a massive, vibrating object.
DOI: 10.1126/science.aeh7535
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aeh7535