Related papers: Probing noncommutative theories with quantum optic…
One of the main challenges in physics today is to merge quantum theory and the theory of general relativity into a unified framework. Various approaches towards developing such a theory of quantum gravity are pursued, but the lack of…
Phenomenological models aiming to join gravity and quantum mechanics often predict effects that are potentially measurable in refined low-energy experiments. For instance, modified commutation relations between position and momentum, that…
Quantum mechanics and the theory of gravity are presently not compatible. A particular question is whether gravity causes decoherence - an unavoidable source of noise. Several models for gravitational decoherence have been proposed, not all…
The existence of minimal length scale has motivated the proposal of generalized uncertainty principle, which provides a potential routine to probe quantum gravitational effects in low-energy quantum mechanics experiment. Hitherto, the…
An open question in experimental physics is the characterization of gravitational effects in quantum regimes. We propose an experimental set-up that uses well-tested techniques in cavity optomechanics to observe the effects of the…
Recent advances in cooling, control, and measurement of mechanical systems in the quantum regime have opened the possibility of the first direct observation of quantum gravity, at scales achievable in experiments. This paper gives a broad…
The search for a theory of quantum gravity is the most fundamental problem in all of theoretical physics, but there are as yet no experimental results at all to guide this endeavor. What seems to be needed is a pragmatic way to test if…
The focus of this PhD thesis is on applications, new developments and extensions of the noncommutative gravity theory proposed by Julius Wess and his group. In part one we propose an extension of the usual symmetry reduction procedure to…
Recently it was proposed to use cavity-optomechanical systems to test for quantum gravity corrections to quantum canonical commutation relations [Nat. Phys. 8, 393-397 (2012)]. Improving the achievable precision of such devices represents a…
Experiments are beginning to probe the interaction of quantum particles with gravitational fields beyond the uniform-field regime. In non-relativistic quantum mechanics, the gravitational field in such experiments can be written as a…
Quantum gravity remains an elusive theory, in spite of our thorough understanding of the quantum theory and the general theory of relativity separately, presumably due to the lack of any observational clues. We argue that the theory of…
The task of testing whether quantum theory applies to all physical systems and all scales requires considering situations where a quantum probe interacts with another system that need not obey quantum theory in full. Important examples…
Quantum theory and general relativity are about one century old. At present, they are considered the best available explanations of physical reality, and they have been so far corroborated by all experiments realised so far. Nonetheless,…
A minimal observable length is a common feature of theories that aim to merge quantum physics and gravity. Quantum mechanically, this concept is associated to a nonzero minimal uncertainty in position measurements, which is encoded in…
We propose an experiment to test the non-classicality of the gravitational interaction. We consider two optomechanical systems that are perfectly isolated, except for a weak gravitational coupling. If a suitable resonance condition is…
The deflection of light in the gravitational field of the Sun is one of the most fundamental consequences for general relativity as well as one of its classical tests first performed by Eddington a century ago. However, despite its center…
Quantum mechanics and general relativity have been extensively and independently confirmed in many experiments. However, the interplay of the two theories has never been tested: all experiments that measured the influence of gravity on…
According to quantum mechanics, if we keep observing a continuous variable we generally disturb its evolution. For a class of observables, however, it is possible to implement a so-called quantum nondemolition measurement: by confining the…
The traditional view from particle physics is that quantum gravity effects should only become detectable at extremely high energies and small length scales. Due to the significant technological challenges involved, there has been limited…
An interesting idea, dating back to Feynman, argues that quantum mechanics may break down for large masses if one entertains the possibility that gravity can be "classical", thereby leading to predictions different from conventional…