• Accepted Paper

Magnetic levitation and spatial superposition of a nanodiamond with a current-carrying chip

Qian Xiang, Shafaq Gulzar Elahi, Andrew Geraci, Sougato Bose, and Anupam Mazumdar

Phys. Rev. A - Accepted 29 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/xh3t-sspj

Abstract

We propose a current-carrying-chip scheme for generating spatial quantum superpositions using a levitating nanodiamond with a built-in nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centre defect. Our setup is versatile, for a mass range of 10−19kg≤m≤10−17kg a superposition size of range O(100)nm<Δx<O(10)μm is achievable in t≤0.1s, depending on the position we launch from the centre of the diamagnetic trap. Using numerical simulations, we provide an in-depth analysis of the chip that can support stable trapping of the particle in all three dimensions as well as create a spatial superposition along the x-axis, while producing a very tight trap in the transverse directions. This setup enables the creation of a Schr"odinger cat state with a diamagnetically levitated nanoparticle in a table-top experiment. Although the mass and superposition size considered here remain below those required for a QGEM test, the proposed device provides a building block toward future QGEM experiments.

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