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arXiv:1909.12088 · Journal of Physics Conference Series

Quantum statistics in Bohmian trajectory gravity

T C Andersen

Published Sep 1, 2019• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract The recent experimental proposals by Bose et al. and Marletto et al. (BMV) outline a way to test for the quantum nature of gravity by measuring gravitationally induced differential phase accumulation over the superposed paths of two ∼ 10−14 kg masses. These authors outline the expected outcome of these experiments for semi-classical, quantum gravity and collapse models. It is found that both semi-classical and collapse models predict a lack of entanglement in the experimental results. This work predicts the outcome of the BMV experiment in Bohmian trajectory gravity - where classical gravity is assumed to couple to the particle configuration in each Bohmian path, as opposed to semi-classical gravity where gravity couples to the expectation value of the wave function, or of quantized gravity, where the gravitational field is itself in a quantum superposition. In the case of the BMV experiment, Bohmian trajectory gravity predicts that there will be quantum entanglement. This is surprising as the gravitational field is treated classically. A discussion of how Bohmian trajectory gravity can induce quantum entanglement for a non superposed gravitational field is put forward.

DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/1275/1/012038

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Abstract The recent experimental proposals by Bose et al. and Marletto et al. (BMV) outline a way to test for the quantum nature of gravity by measuring gravitationally induced differential phase accumulation over the superposed paths of two ∼ 10−14 kg masses. These authors outline the expected outcome of these experiments for semi-classical, quantum gravity and collapse models. It is found that both semi-classical and collapse models predict a lack of entanglement in the experimental results. This work predicts the outcome of the BMV experiment in Bohmian trajectory gravity - where classical gravity is assumed to couple to the particle configuration in each Bohmian path, as opposed to semi-classical gravity where gravity couples to the expectation value of the wave function, or of quantized gravity, where the gravitational field is itself in a quantum superposition. In the case of the BMV experiment, Bohmian trajectory gravity predicts that there will be quantum entanglement. This is surprising as the gravitational field is treated classically. A discussion of how Bohmian trajectory gravity can induce quantum entanglement for a non superposed gravitational field is put forward.
Abstract Bose et al and Marletto and Vedral proposed an experiment to test whether gravity can induce entanglement between massive systems, arguing that the capacity to do so would imply the quantum nature of gravity. In this work, a class of semi-classical models is examined that treat gravity classically, through some potential in the Schrödinger equation, and it is shown that these models do not generate entanglement. This class includes the Newton–Schrödinger model, where gravity is sourced by the wave function, the Bohmian analogue, where gravity is sourced by actual point-particles, and an interpolating model proposed by Döner and Großardt. These models are analyzed in the context of the proposed experiment and contrasted with the standard Newtonian potential, which does generate entanglement.
Finding quantum characteristics in gravity has interested physicists for many decades.While there has been significant progress on the theoretical side, the experimental side still needs to yield sufficient evidence to prove the quantum nature of gravity.Therefore, the Bose et al.-Marletto-Vedral (BMV) experiment is proposed to resolve this problem.This paper analyzes two variations from the experiment that introduce the following changes: 1) linear increase in distance between masses and 2) significant time length for splitting and recombining.These variables affect the wave function by influencing the phases picked up during evolution and thus produce effects on the quantum witness.Nonetheless, despite these impacts, the entanglement between masses is reduced but not destroyed.At the end of this paper, the meaning of witnessing entanglement in the BMV experiment is discussed.Although proving the non-classicality of gravity does not guarantee the quantum nature of gravity, the experiment is sufficient to rule out classical gravity in the research of the nature of gravity.
Abstract The experimental observation of a clear quantum signature of gravity is believed to be out of the grasp of current technology. However, several recent promising proposals to test the possible existence of non-classical features of gravity seem to be accessible by the state-of-art table-top experiments. Among them, some aim at measuring the gravitationally induced entanglement between two masses which would be a distinct non-classical signature of gravity. We explicitly study, in two of these proposals, the effects of decoherence on the system’s dynamics by monitoring the corresponding degree of entanglement. We identify the required experimental conditions necessary to perform successfully the experiments. In parallel, we account also for the possible effects of the continuous spontaneous localization (CSL) model, which is the most known among the models of spontaneous wavefunction collapse. We find that any value of the parameters of the CSL model would completely hinder the generation of gravitationally induced entanglement.
Christodoulou and Rovelli (CR) [1] have argued that a Bose et al.-Marletto-Vedral (BMV) experiment that confirmed the quantum nature of gravity would give laboratory evidence for a quantum superposition of spacetime geometries created in the course of the experiment. Hanif et al. [2] have argued that mass interferometers can be used to test whether gravity acts as a quantum entity when measured. We note that not all quantum models of gravity imply that mass superpositions necessarily become significantly entangled with any degrees of freedom of the gravitational field during the experiments discussed.
Bohmian mechanics offers a deterministic alternative to conventional quantum theory through well-defined particle trajectories. While successful in nonrelativistic contexts, its extension to curved spacetime-and hence quantum gravity-remains unresolved. Here, we develop a covariant extension of Bohmian mechanics in curved spacetime that removes the need for metric quantization. From a Lagrangian formulation, we derive a generalized guidance equation in which Bohmian trajectories generate hidden curvature, replacing metric superposition with a statistical ensemble constrained by Heisenberg uncertainty, offering a novel perspective on quantum gravity. Consequently, in our approach, measuring the gravitational potential at a point unveils a pre-existing trajectory and its associated curvature-a departure from the observer-centric paradigm of standard quantum mechanics-providing an alternative in which gravitational effects emerge from deterministic quantum trajectories rather than wavefunction collapse. Numerical simulations in Robertson-Walker and cigar soliton spacetimes reveal that while quantum interference is curvature-sensitive, Zitterbewegung remains invariant, distinguishing fundamental quantum effects. Moreover, deviations from the Born rule in inhomogeneous spacetimes are observed and suggest gravity-induced quantum non-equilibrium. This new approach has far-reaching implications for the role of determinism and potential observational signatures of quantum non-equilibrium in cosmology.
Semi-classical theories are approximations to quantum theory that treat some degrees of freedom classically and others quantum mechanically. In the usual approach, the quantum degrees of freedom are described by a wave function which evolves according to some Schrödinger equation with a Hamiltonian that depends on the classical degrees of freedom. The classical degrees of freedom satisfy classical equations that depend on the expectation values of quantum operators. In this paper, we study an alternative approach based on Bohmian mechanics. In Bohmian mechanics the quantum system is not only described by the wave function, but also with additional variables such as particle positions or fields. By letting the classical equations of motion depend on these variables, rather than the quantum expectation values, a semi-classical approximation is obtained that is closer to the exact quantum results than the usual approach. We discuss the Bohmian semi-classical approximation in various contexts, such as nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity. The main motivation comes from quantum gravity. The quest for a quantum theory for gravity is still going on. Therefore a semi-classical approach where gravity is treated classically may be an approximation that already captures some quantum gravitational aspects. The Bohmian semi-classical theories will be derived from the full Bohmian theories. In the case there are gauge symmetries, like in quantum electrodynamics or quantum gravity, special care is required. In order to derive a consistent semi-classical theory it will be necessary to isolate gauge-independent dependent degrees of freedom from gauge degrees of freedom and consider the approximation where some of the former are considered classical.