Quantum Delocalization of a Levitated Nanoparticle

Matter waves have been observed in double-slit experiments with microscopic objects, such as atoms or molecules. The wave function describing the motion of these objects must extend over a distance comparable to the slit separation, much larger than the characteristic size of the objects. Preparing such states for more massive objects, such as mechanical oscillators, remains an outstanding challenge. Here we delocalize the quantum ground state of an optically levitated nanosphere by modulating the stiffness of the confining potential. We show a more than threefold increase of the initial coherence length, which corresponds to mechanical momentum squeezing of more than 7 dB. Our work is a stepping stone toward the generation of coherence lengths comparable to the object size, a crucial regime for macroscopic quantum experiments.