Quantum interferometry in external gravitational fields

Thomas B. Mieling, Thomas Morling, Christopher Hilweg, Philip Walther

Abstract: Current models of quantum interference experiments in external gravitational fields lack a common framework: while matter-wave interferometers are commonly described using the Schrödinger equation with a Newtonian potential, gravitational effects in quantum optics are modeled using either post-Newtonian metrics or highly symmetric exact solutions to Einstein’s field equations such as those of Schwarzschild and Kerr. To coherently describe both kinds of experiments, this paper develops a unified framework for modeling quantum interferometers in general stationary space-times. This model provides a rigorous description and coherent interpretation of the effects of classical gravity on quantum probes.

Physical Review A 112 062211

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