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arXiv:2503.07458 · Journal of Physics Conference Series

Causality violation of Schrödinger–Newton equation: direct test on the horizon?

Lajos Diósi

Published Jun 1, 2025• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract We quote a definitive simple proof that neither classical stochastic dynamics nor quantum dynamics can be nonlinear if we stick to their standard statistical interpretations. A recently proposed optomechanical test of gravity’s classicality versus quantumness is based on the nonlinear Schrödinger—Newton equation (SNE) which is the nonrelativistic limit of standard semiclassical gravity. While in typical cosmological applications of semiclassical gravity the predicted violation of causality is ignored, it cannot be disregarded in applications of the SNE in high sensitive laboratory tests hoped for the coming years. We reveal that, in a recently designed experiment, quantum optical monitoring of massive probes predicts fake action-at-a-distance (acausality) on a single probe already. The proposed experiment might first include the direct test of this acausality.

DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/3017/1/012009

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Abstract We quote a definitive simple proof that neither classical stochastic dynamics nor quantum dynamics can be nonlinear if we stick to their standard statistical interpretations. A recently proposed optomechanical test of gravity’s classicality versus quantumness is based on the nonlinear Schrödinger—Newton equation (SNE) which is the nonrelativistic limit of standard semiclassical gravity. While in typical cosmological applications of semiclassical gravity the predicted violation of causality is ignored, it cannot be disregarded in applications of the SNE in high sensitive laboratory tests hoped for the coming years. We reveal that, in a recently designed experiment, quantum optical monitoring of massive probes predicts fake action-at-a-distance (acausality) on a single probe already. The proposed experiment might first include the direct test of this acausality.
The evolution of quantum states influenced by semiclassical gravity is distinct from that in quantum gravity theory due to the presence of a state-dependent gravitational potential. This state-dependent potential introduces nonlinearity into the state evolution, of which the theory is named the Schr\"odinger-Newton (SN) theory. The formalism for understanding the continuous quantum measurement process on the quantum state in the context of semiclassical gravity theory has been previously discussed using the Schr\"odinger picture in Paper I [Semiclassical gravity phenomenology under the causal-conditional quantum measurement prescription, Phys. Rev. D 107, 024004 (2023).]. In this work, an equivalent formalism using the Heisenberg picture is developed and applied to the analysis of two optomechanical experiment protocols that targeted testing the quantum nature of gravity. This Heisenberg picture formalism of the SN theory has the advantage of helping the investigation of the covariance matrices of the outgoing light fields in these protocols and further the entanglement features. We found that the classical gravity between the quantum trajectories of two mirrors under continuous quantum measurement in the SN theory can induce an apparent entanglement of the outgoing light field (though there is no quantum entanglement of the mirrors), which could serve as a false alarm for those experiments designed for probing the quantum gravity induced entanglement.
The semiclassical gravity sourced by the quantum expectation value of the matter's energy-momentum tensor will change the evolution of the quantum state of matter, which can be described by the Schr\"odinger-Newton (SN) equation. Understanding the phenomenology of the SN equation is important for experimentally testing the quantumness of gravity. In the SN theory, semiclassical gravity contributes a gravitational potential term depending on the matter's quantum state. This state-dependent potential introduces the complexity of the quantum state evolution and measurement in SN theory, which is different for different quantum measurement prescriptions. Previous theoretical investigations on the SN-theory phenomenology in the optomechanical experimental platform were carried out under the so-called post/preselection prescription. This work will focus on the phenomenology of SN theory under the causal-conditional prescription, which fits the standard intuition of the continuous quantum measurement process. We found that under the causal-conditional prescription, the quantum state of the test mass mirrors is conditionally prepared by the continuous projection of the outgoing light field in an optomechanical system. Hence a quantum-trajectory-dependent gravitational potential is created, which significantly changes the system evolution. This work provides an extensive analysis of this new picture of system evolution, and shows that various experimentally measurable signatures predicted by SN theory under causal-conditional prescription cannot be distinguished from that predicted by quantum gravity unless a very extreme experimental parameter region is assumed. Therefore, our new understanding of SN phenomenology provides an important caution toward the experimental verification of quantum gravity.
We show that optomechanical systems can test the Schr\"odinger-Newton equation of gravitational quantum mechanics due to Yang et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 170401 (2013). This equation is motivated by semiclassical gravity, a widely used theory of interacting gravitational and quantum fields. From the many-body Schr\"odinger-Newton equation follows an approximate equation for the center-of-mass dynamics of macroscopic objects. This predicts a distinctive double-peaked signature in the output optical quadrature power spectral density of certain optomechanical systems. Since the Schr\"odinger-Newton equation lacks free parameters, these will allow its experimental confirmation or refutation.
The possibility that a classical space-time and quantum matter cohabit at the deepest level, i.e., the possibility of having a fundamental and not phenomenological semiclassical gravity, is often disregarded for lack of a good candidate theory. The standard semiclassical theory suffers from fundamental inconsistencies (e.g., Schr\"odinger cat sources, faster-than-light communication and violation of the Born rule) which can only be ignored in simple typical situations. We harness the power of spontaneous localization models, historically constructed to solve the measurement problem in quantum mechanics, to build a consistent theory of (stochastic) semiclassical gravity in the Newtonian limit. Our model makes quantitative and potentially testable predictions: we recover the Newtonian pair potential up to a short distance cutoff (hence, we predict no one-particle self-interaction) and uncover an additional gravitational decoherence term which depends on the specifics of the underlying spontaneous localization model considered. We hint at a possible program to go past the Newtonian limit, towards a consistent general relativistic semiclassical gravity.
The Schrödinger-Newton equation, a theoretical framework connecting quantum mechanics with classical gravity, predicts that gravity may induce measurable deviations in low-frequency mechanical systems—an intriguing hypothesis at the frontier of fundamental physics. In this study, we developed and operated an advanced optomechanical platform to investigate these effects. The system integrates an optical cavity with finesse over 3.5 × 10 5 and a torsion pendulum with an ultralow eigenfrequency of 0.6 mHz, achieving a high mechanical quality factor exceeding 5 × 10 4 . We collected data for three months and reached a sensitivity of 0.3 μ rad / Hz at the Schrödinger-Newton frequency of 2.5 mHz where deviations from the standard quantum mechanics may occur. While no evidence supporting semiclassical gravity was found, we identify key challenges in such tests and propose new experimental approaches to advance this line of inquiry. This work demonstrates the potential of precision optomechanics to probe the interplay between quantum mechanics and gravity.
While it is widely believed that gravity should ultimately be treated as a quantum theory, there remains a possibility that general relativity should not be quantized. If this is the case, the coupling of classical gravity to the expectation value of the quantum stress-energy tensor will naturally lead to nonlinearities in the Schrodinger equation. By numerically investigating time evolution in the nonrelativistic "Schrodinger-Newton" approximation, we show that such nonlinearities may be observable in the next generation of molecular interferometry experiments.