Related papers: Quantization of neutron in Earth's gravity
Two of us (CM and VV) recently showed how the quantum character of a physical system, in particular the gravitational field, can in principle be witnessed without directly measuring observables of that system, solely by its ability to…
We describe an experimental installation for a new test of the weak equivalence principle for neutron. The device is a sensitive gravitational spectrometer for ultra-cold neutrons allowing to precisely compare the gain in kinetic energy of…
Recent progress in table-top experiments offers the opportunity to show for the first time that gravity is not compatible with a classical description. In all current experimental proposals, such as the generation of gravitationally induced…
We discuss the possible influence of gravity in the neutronization process, $p^+ e^- \to n \nu_e$, which is particularly important as a cooling mechanism of neutron stars. Our approach is semiclassical in the sense that leptonic fields are…
We investigate weak nuclear decays with extremely small kinetic energy release (Q value) and thus extremely good sensitivity to the absolute neutrino mass scale. In particular, we consider decays into excited daughter states, and we show…
The Cosmological Constant Problem is re-examined from an effective field theory perspective. While the connection between gravity and particle physics has not been experimentally probed in the quantum regime, it is severely constrained by…
In quantum theory it is generally assumed that there exists a special state called the vacuum state and that this state is a lower bound to the energy. However it has recently been demonstrated that this is not necessarily the case for some…
We explore the idea that quantum vacuum energy $\rho_{\rm vac} $ is at the origin of Gravity. We formulate a gravitational version of the electromagnetic Casimir effect, and provide an argument for how gravity can arise from $\rho_{\rm vac}…
The cosmological constant presents one of the most fascinating and confounding problems in physics. A straightforward, seemingly robust prediction of quantum mechanics and general relativity is that the vacuum energy gravitates. Therefore,…
Observable signatures of the quantum nature of gravity at low energies have recently emerged as a promising new research field. One prominent avenue is to test for gravitationally induced entanglement between two mesoscopic masses prepared…
The numerical quantum electronic structure for the energies of the states of the hydrogen like atoms as given by Sommerfeld in 1915-16 is studied and is shown to present a scheme that is able to express a unique observer point of view. The…
Building on the principles of quantum electrodynamics and special relativity, we develop a semi-classical QED theory of gravitation. The experiment model for theoretical analysis is the "hyperfine splitting" of the ground energy state of…
We have recently shown that both passive and active gravitational masses of a composite body are not equivalent to its energy due to some quantum effects. We have also suggested an idealized and more realistic experiments to detect the…
A satisfactory theory of quantum gravity may necessitate a drastic modification of our perception of space-time, by giving it a foamy structure at distances comparable to the Planck length. It is argued in this essay that the experimental…
About 300 experiments have tried to determine the value of the Newtonian gravitational constant, G, so far, but large discrepancies in the results have made it impossible to know its value precisely. The weakness of the gravitational…
Gravitational field is usually neglected in calculation of atomic energy levels as its effect is much weaker than the electromagnetic field, but that is not the case for a particle orbiting a black hole. In this work, canonical quantization…
Neutrino oscillations at the highest energies and longest baselines provide a natural quantum interferometer with which to study the structure of spacetime and test the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. If the metric of spacetime…
An elementary prediction of the quantization of the gravitational field is that the Newtonian interaction can entangle pairs of massive objects. Conversely, in models of gravity in which the field is not quantized, the gravitational…
One of the great challenges for 21st century physics is to quantize gravity and generate a theory that will unify gravity with the other three fundamental forces of nature. This paper takes the (heretical) point of view that gravity may be…
The astrophysical neutrinos recently discovered by the IceCube neutrino telescope have the highest detected neutrino energies --- from TeV to PeV --- and travel the longest distances --- up to a few Gpc, the size of the observable Universe.…