Gravitational decoherence and the possibility of its interferometric detection

Asprea, Lorenzo, Bassi, Angelo, Ulbricht, Hendrik and Gasbarri, Giulio (2021) Gravitational decoherence and the possibility of its interferometric detection. Physical Review Letters, 126 (200403), [200403]. (doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.200403).

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Abstract

We present a general master equation describing the quantum dynamics of a scalar bosonic field interacting with an external weak and stochastic gravitational field. The dynamics predicts decoherence both in position and in energy-momentum. We show how the master equation reproduces, thus generalizing, the previous results in the literature by taking appropriate limits. We estimate the effect of gravitational decoherence in atom interferometers, providing also a straightforward way to assess the magnitude of the effect.

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On the decoherence effect of a stochastic gravitational perturbation on scalar matter and the possibility of its interferometric detection - Accepted Manuscript

Available under License University of Southampton Accepted Manuscript Licence.

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Published date: 19 May 2021

Additional Information: Funding Information: L. A. and G. G. deeply thank A. Belenchia, P. Creminelli, J. L. Gaona Reyes, A. Gundhi, C. I. Jones, and K. Skenderis for the helpful and inspiring discussions. The authors acknowledge financial support form the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 766900 [TEQ]. L. A. and A. B. thank the University of Trieste, INFN and the COST action 15220 QTSpace. G. G. and H. U. thank the Leverhulme Trust [RPG-2016-046]. Funding Information: L. A. and G. G. deeply thank A. Belenchia, P. Creminelli, J. L. Gaona Reyes, A. Gundhi, C. I. Jones, and K. Skenderis for the helpful and inspiring discussions. The authors acknowledge financial support form the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 766900 [TEQ]. L. A. and A. B. thank the University of Trieste, INFN and the COST action 15220 QTSpace. G. G. and H. U. thank the Leverhulme Trust [RPG-2016-046]. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 American Physical Society.