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arXiv:2206.12897 · Quantum

Continuous-Variable Entanglement through Central Forces: Application to Gravity between Quantum Masses

Ankit Kumar, Tanjung Krisnanda, P. Arumugam, Tomasz Paterek

Published May 15, 2023• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We describe a complete method for a precise study of gravitational interaction between two nearby quantum masses. Since the displacements of these masses are much smaller than the initial separation between their centers, the displacement-to-separation ratio is a natural parameter in which the gravitational potential can be expanded. We show that entanglement in such experiments is sensitive to initial relative momentum only when the system evolves into non-Gaussian states, i.e., when the potential is expanded at least up to the cubic term. A pivotal role of force gradient as the dominant contributor to position-momentum correlations is demonstrated. We establish a closed-form expression for the entanglement gain, which shows that the contribution from the cubic term is proportional to momentum and from the quartic term is proportional to momentum squared. From a quantum information perspective, the results find applications as a momentum witness of non-Gaussian entanglement. Our methods are versatile and apply to any number of central interactions expanded to any order.

DOI
10.22331/q-2023-05-15-1008

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We describe a complete method for a precise study of gravitational interaction between two nearby quantum masses. Since the displacements of these masses are much smaller than the initial separation between their centers, the displacement-to-separation ratio is a natural parameter in which the gravitational potential can be expanded. We show that entanglement in such experiments is sensitive to initial relative momentum only when the system evolves into non-Gaussian states, i.e., when the potential is expanded at least up to the cubic term. A pivotal role of force gradient as the dominant contributor to position-momentum correlations is demonstrated. We establish a closed-form expression for the entanglement gain, which shows that the contribution from the cubic term is proportional to momentum and from the quartic term is proportional to momentum squared. From a quantum information perspective, the results find applications as a momentum witness of non-Gaussian entanglement. Our methods are versatile and apply to any number of central interactions expanded to any order.
Abstract Witnessing the quantum nature of gravity through the entanglement of two masses has recently been proposed. Both non-Gaussian and Gaussian protocols have been shown to be useful for this purpose. In non-Gaussian protocols the complete 1 / r gravitational interaction can in principle be utilized for entanglement generation, as long as quantum superpositions of a spatial splitting Δ x comparable to the distance d between two masses can be generated. In practice, however, all non-Gaussian protocols proposed to date rely on embedded qubits—typically spins—to read out the entanglement: spin correlations are used to witness the entanglement developed between the masses during interferometry. Here we show that if superpositions of distinct spatially localized states of each mass can be created, then a spinless version of the non-Gaussian protocol is possible: simple position correlation measurements alone can yield a spatial qubit witness of the entanglement between the masses. We find that the principal new requirement for the viability of this protocol is a position squeezing of the wavefunction by approximately seven orders of magnitude, applied at a specific stage of the experiment.
Gravitational generation of quantum entanglement on squeezed coherent states in a system of two quantum mechanical particles is explored. The particles are modeled as harmonic oscillators, and their gravitational interaction is described by an interaction potential. Dynamics of the gravi- tationally induced entanglement is explored using the linear entropy of entanglement. An analytical expression for the linear entropy is obtained via Gaussian integration and covariance method. In the short-time weakly coupled regime, it is observed that the entanglement is proportional to the square of the time interval, square of the interaction strength, and proportional to the squeezing parameters of the modes. These results provide insights into the effects of quantum squeezing on entanglement generation in systems with gravitational interactions. Analytically and numerically it is shown that momentum squeezing can enhance gravitationally induced quantum entanglement.
The detection of the quantum nature of gravity in the low-energy limit hinges on achieving an unprecedented degree of force sensitivity with mechanical systems. Against this background we explore the relationship between the sensitivity of mechanical systems to external forces and properties of the quantum states they are prepared in. We establish that the main determinant of the force sensitivity in pure quantum states is their spatial delocalisation and we link the force sensitivity to the rate at which two mechanical systems become entangled under a quantum force. We exemplify this at the hand of two commonly considered configurations. One that involves gravitationally interacting objects prepared in non-Gaussian states such as Schrödinger-cat states, where the generation of entanglement is typically ascribed to the accumulation of a dynamical phase between components in superposition experiencing varying gravitational potentials. The other prepares particles in Gaussian states that are strongly squeezed in momentum and delocalised in position where entanglement generation is attributed to accelerations. We offer a unified description of these two arrangements using the phase-space representation of the interacting particles, and link their entangling rate to their force sensitivity, showing that both configurations get entangled at the same rate provided that they are equally delocalised in space. Our description in phase space and the established relation between force sensitivity and entanglement sheds light on the intricacies of why the equivalence between these two configurations holds, something that is not always evident in the literature, due to the distinct physical and analytical methods employed to study each of them. Notably, our findings demonstrate that while the conventional computation of entanglement via the dynamical phase remains accurate for systems in Schrödinger-cat states, it may yield erroneous estimations for systems prepared in squeezed cat states.
The purpose of this study is to calculate the entanglement measure for a bipartite system where the two subsystems interact via a central potential, and more importantly, to analyze the conceptual implication in the case of gravitational potential. Through numerical calculation, we confirm that the ground state of such quantum system is an entangled state. This raises a question whether a quantum ground state describing masses interacting through gravity can ever be a separable state. Entanglement seems to be an intrinsic characteristic for the ground state when mutual gravitational interaction is involved. Although the study is in the context of non-relativistic quantum mechanics, it provides hints for a quantum gravity theory in the limit of very weak field and low relative velocity. The entanglement of the ground state of two masses seems intrinsically connecting to the curvature of spacetime they create.
Gravity-induced entanglement has been proposed as a method for testing the non-classical nature of gravity via tabletop experiments. While most existing proposals are restricted to the Newtonian limit, the frame dragging effect offers access to genuinely post-Newtonian features of the gravitational interaction and remains comparatively less explored. Here, we study gravity-induced entanglement generated by frame dragging in an interferometric setting and compute the entanglement phase between the rotational degrees of freedom of a source mass and the paths of a particle in two complementary ways: (i) via Schrödinger evolution with a quantized Lense-Thirring Hamiltonian in the large angular momentum limit, and (ii) via the on-shell action of linearized quantum gravity within the stationary phase approximation. Both approaches yield the same entanglement phase, consistent with the proper time difference between the interferometer arms. The path integral derivation further reveals how gravitational retardation modifies the entanglement phase, thereby making the local, relativistically causal linearized-gravity description explicit. Under the standard locality/mediator assumptions used in existing arguments, the resulting entanglement would witness non-classicality of the gravitational interaction.
Probing the quantum nature of gravity is one of the most profound open challenges in physics. A promising direction is the Gravitationally Induced Entanglement (GIE) protocol, where two initially unentangled probes become entangled solely through local interactions with a mediator of interaction, the gravitational field. Such entanglement would imply that gravity must carry quantum features, namely, it must possess at least a couple of incompatible observables. This thesis further expands the GIE protocol and its Theory-Independent argument by introducing a general, dynamics-independent inequality: the quantum correlation gain between the probes is upper-bounded by the non-commutativity of the mediator’s observables and its Hilbert space dimension. This bound holds for arbitrary interactions and any finite-dimensional systems. A decoherence analysis shows the bound vanishes when the mediator becomes classical. These results provide a quantitative, operational tool for observing the non-classicality of mediators, thereby expanding the conceptual and experimental reach of GIE-based tests of gravity.