Quantum mechanics and the equivalence principle

DOI10.1088/0264-9381/21/11/017zbMATH Open1052.81005arXivquant-ph/0403027OpenAlexW3098454119MaRDI QIDQ4812604FDOQ4812604

Authors: P. C. W. Davies 

Publication date: 23 August 2004

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

Abstract: A quantum particle moving in a gravitational field may penetrate the classically forbidden region of the gravitational potential. This raises the question of whether the time of flight of a quantum particle in a gravitational field might deviate systematically from that of a classical particle due to tunnelling delay, representing a violation of the weak equivalence principle. I investigate this using a model quantum clock to measure the time of flight of a quantum particle in a uniform gravitational field, and show that a violation of the equivalence principle does not occur when the measurement is made far from the turning point of the classical trajectory. I conclude with some remarks about the strong equivalence principle in quantum mechanics.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0403027

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zbMATH Keywords

quantum time

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

General and philosophical questions in quantum theory (81P05) Closed and approximate solutions to the Schrödinger, Dirac, Klein-Gordon and other equations of quantum mechanics (81Q05) Quantum field theory on curved space or space-time backgrounds (81T20) Gravitational interaction in quantum theory (81V17) Methods of quantum field theory in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C47)

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