Equivalence principle for quantum systems: dephasing and phase shift of free-falling particles

DOI10.1088/1361-6382/AAA0E8zbMATH Open1382.83039arXiv1707.04526OpenAlexW2735081258MaRDI QIDQ4607302FDOQ4607302

Authors:

Publication date: 13 March 2018

Published in: Classical and Quantum Gravity (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We ask the question how the (weak) equivalence principle established in classical gravitational physics should be reformulated and interpreted for massive quantum objects that may also have internal degrees of freedom (dof). This inquiry is necessary because even elementary concepts like a classical trajectory are not well defined in quantum physics -- trajectories originating from quantum histories become viable entities only under stringent decoherence conditions. From this investigation we posit two logically and operationally distinct statements of the equivalence principle for quantum systems: Version A: The probability distribution of position for a free-falling particle is the same as the probability distribution of a free particle, modulo a mass-independent shift of its mean. Version B: Any two particles with the same velocity wave-function behave identically in free fall, irrespective of their masses. Both statements apply to all quantum states, including non-classical ones, and also for composite particles with quantum internal dof. We also investigate the consequences of the interaction between internal and external dof induced by free fall. For a class of initial states, we find a dephasing for the translational dof, namely, the suppression of the off-diagonal terms of the density matrix, in the position basis. We also find a gravitational phase shift in the reduced density matrix of the internal dof that does not depend on the particle's mass. For classical states, the phase shift has a natural classical interpretation in terms of gravitational red-shift and special relativistic time-dilation.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1707.04526

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zbMATH Keywords

equivalence principlefree fallgravitational quantum physicsgravitational phase shift

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Equations of motion in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C10) Gravitational interaction in quantum theory (81V17) Quantization of the gravitational field (83C45) Methods of quantum field theory in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C47)

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Cited In (11)

• Relativistic single-electron wavepacket in quantum electromagnetic fields: quantum coherence, correlations, and the Unruh effect
• Fresh look at the effects of gravitational tidal forces on a freely-falling quantum particle
• Equivalence principle for quantum mechanics in the Heisenberg picture
• Universality of quantum time dilation
• Atomic stability and the quantum mass equivalence
• Gravity-induced geometric spin Hall effect of freely falling quantum particle
• De Broglie relations, gravitational time dilation and weak equivalence principle
• How does interference fall?
• Quantum generalisation of Einstein's equivalence principle can be verified with entangled clocks as quantum reference frames
• Free fall in KvN mechanics and Einstein's principle of equivalence
• Relativistic quantum bouncing particles in a homogeneous gravitational field

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