Entanglement generation by Newtonian gravitational potential between objects has been widely discussed to reveal the quantum nature of gravity. In this paper, we perform a quantum field theoretical analysis of a slightly modified version of the gedanken experiment by Mari and co-workers [A. Mari et al., Sci. Rep. 6, 22777 (2016).]. We show that decoherence due to the presence of a detector propagates with the speed of light in terms of a retarded Green's function, as it should be consistent with causality of relativistic field theories. The quantum nature of fields, such as quantum fluctuations or emission of gravitons expressed in terms of the Keldysh Green's function also play important roles in the mechanism of decoherence due to on-shell particle creation. We also discuss the trade-off relation between the visibility of the interference and the distinguishability of the measurement, known as the particle-wave duality, in our setup.
Entanglement generation by Newtonian gravitational potential between objects has been widely discussed to reveal the quantum nature of gravity. In this paper, we perform a quantum field theoretical analysis of a slightly modified version of the gedanken experiment by Mari and co-workers [A. Mari et al., Sci. Rep. 6, 22777 (2016).]. We show that decoherence due to the presence of a detector propagates with the speed of light in terms of a retarded Green's function, as it should be consistent with causality of relativistic field theories. The quantum nature of fields, such as quantum fluctuations or emission of gravitons expressed in terms of the Keldysh Green's function also play important roles in the mechanism of decoherence due to on-shell particle creation. We also discuss the trade-off relation between the visibility of the interference and the distinguishability of the measurement, known as the particle-wave duality, in our setup.
It has long been debated whether gravity should be quantized or not. Recently, the authors in [Sci. Rep. 6, 22777 (2016); Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106, 3035 (2009)] discussed the inconsistency between causality and complementarity in a Gedankenexperiment involving the quantum superposition of massive/charged bodies, and Belenchia et al. [Phys. Rev. D 98, 126009 (2018); Int. J. Mod. Phys. D 28, 1943001 (2019)] resolved the inconsistency by requiring the quantum radiation and vacuum fluctuations of gravitational/electromagnetic field. Stimulated by their works, we reanalyze the consistency between the two physical properties, causality and complementarity, according to the quantum field theory. In this analysis, we consider a Gedankenexperiment inspired by [Sci. Rep. 6, 22777 (2016); Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106, 3035 (2009); Phys. Rev. D 98, 126009 (2018); Int. J. Mod. Phys. D 28, 1943001 (2019)], in which two charged particles coupled with a photon field are in a superposition of two trajectories. First, we observe that causality is satisfied by the retarded propagation of the photon field. Next, by introducing an inequality between visibility and which-path information, we show that the quantum radiation and vacuum fluctuations of the photon field ensure complementarity. We further find that the Robertson inequality associated with the photon field leads to the consistency between causality and complementarity in our Gedankenexperiment. Finally, we mention that a similar feature appears in the quantum field of gravity.
Detection of entanglement through the Newtonian potential has been claimed to support the existence of gravitons, by extrapolating to a thought experiment which demonstrates that complementarity and causality would be in conflict unless quantum fluctuations exist. We critically assess this consistency argument using scalar field models. We show that whether complementarity or no-signalling is violated when quantum fluctuations are neglected, depends on how this approximation is taken, while in both cases entanglement is generated locally in spacetime. We clarify that the correct reading of the paradox requires making a clear distinction between two notions of causality violation: Newtonian action-at-a-distance and the quantum mechanical no-signalling; the latter is pertinent while the former is not. We conclude that the thought experiment (a) does not add to the epistemological relevance of entanglement through Newtonian potentials (b) lends support for the existence of gravitons, if retardation effects are detected in entanglement through gravity.
Abstract In this paper, we study the phenomenon of quantum interference in the presence of external gravitational fields described by alternative theories of gravity. We analyze both non-relativistic and relativistic effects induced by the underlying curved background on a superposed quantum system. In the non-relativistic regime, it is possible to come across a gravitational counterpart of the Bohm–Aharonov effect, which results in a phase shift proportional to the derivative of the modified Newtonian potential. On the other hand, beyond the Newtonian approximation, the relativistic nature of gravity plays a crucial rôle. Indeed, the existence of a gravitational time dilation between the two arms of the interferometer causes a loss of coherence that is in principle observable in quantum interference patterns. We work in the context of generalized quadratic theories of gravity to compare their physical predictions with the analogous outcomes in general relativity. In so doing, we show that the decoherence rate strongly depends on the gravitational model under investigation, which means that this approach turns out to be a promising test bench to probe and discriminate among all the extensions of Einstein’s theory in future experiments.
Motivated by the Bose et al.-Matletto-Vedral (BMV) proposal for detecting quantum superposition of spacetime geometries, we study a toy model of a quantum entanglement generation between two spins (qubits) mediated by a relativistic free scalar field. After time evolution, spin correlation is generated through the interactions with the field. Because of the associated particle creation into an open system, the quantum state of spins is partially decohered. In this paper, we give a comprehensive study of the model based on the closed time path formalism, focusing on relativistic causality and quantum mechanical complementarity. We calculate various quantities such as spin correlations, entanglement entropies, mutual information and negativity, and study their behaviors in various limiting situations. In particular, we calculate the mutual information of the two spins and compare it with spin correlation functions. In some cases, its inequality relation improves the trade-off relation between the fringe visibility and the distinguishability (which-way information) by giving a stronger upper bound on the visibility. We also discuss why no quantum entanglement can be generated unless both spins are causally affected by one another while spin correlations are generated.
Investigating the quantum nature of gravity is an important issue in modern physics. Recently, studies pertaining to the quantum superposition of gravitational potential have garnered significant interest. Inspired by Mari et al. [Sci. Rep. 6, 22777 (2016)] and Baym and Ozawa [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106, 3035 (2009)], Belenchia et al. [Phys. Rev. D 98, 126009 (2018)] considered a gedanken experiment involving such a quantum superposition and mentioned that the superposition renders causality and complementarity inconsistent. They resolved this inconsistency by considering the quantized dynamical degrees of freedom of gravity. This suggests a strong relationship between the quantum superposition of the gravitational potential and the quantization of the gravitational field. In our previous study [Phys. Rev. D 106, 125002 (2022)], we have shown that the quantum uncertainty of a field guarantees the consistency between causality and complementarity. In this study, we focus on the entanglement between two particles' states due to the electromagnetic/gravitational potential and investigate its relationship with quantum uncertainty, causality, and complementarity. Our numerical analyses show that the quantum uncertainty of the electromagnetic/gravitational field results in vacuum fluctuations and prohibits the entanglement between two particles' states when causality is satisfied. We further demonstrate that complementarity holds when the particles do not get entangled. The uncertainty relation does not cause the entanglement between two particles' states, which guarantees complementarity.
This thesis investigates the role of gravitational waves in quantum systems, motivated by advances in our understanding of the quantum–gravity interface and efforts to identify experimental signatures of quantum gravity. It focuses on gravitational decoherence and the interplay between internal energy and centre-of-mass dynamics in composite quantum systems, complemented by a study of internal-energy effects in gravitationally mediated entanglement. First, we develop relativistic Hamiltonian formulations showing that changes in a composite system’s internal energy increase its gravitational mass rather than alter its momentum. This removes earlier ad hoc arguments for eliminating “anomalous friction forces”. We show that gravitational waves act as a dynamical background, inducing curvature-dependent forces that modify total momentum. Second, we revisit a thought experiment in which tensions between causality and complementarity arise. We identify a scenario in which these tensions follow from energy–mass equivalence, making the effect specific to gravitational interactions. In a gravitationally mediated entanglement experiment using Newtonian gravity as mediator, we investigate whether decohering gravitational radiation can resolve the apparent conflict. Finally, we build upon a model of gravitational decoherence consistent with general relativity. This requires deriving a higher-derivative quantum Langevin equation and master equation. The resulting dynamics show that gravitational interactions induce decoherence in the canonical momentum basis of the quadrupole and generate acceleration- and jerk-dependent corrections absent in electrodynamics. Together, these results show that weak-field gravitational interactions leave distinct relativistic imprints on quantum systems, including effects unique to gravitational waves, providing potential signatures that distinguish gravity from other interactions.