Related papers: Gravitation at the mesoscopic scale
Classical-particle trajectories are calculated for the static Einstein universe without requiring that the 3-space be closed and curved. Freely-moving test particles are found to return to their starting positions because of strong…
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…
We present a minimal model for the quantum evolution of matter under the influence of classical gravity in the Newtonian limit. Based on a continuous measurement-feedback channel that acts simultaneously on all constituent masses of a given…
Fully covariant wave equations predict the existence of a class of inertial-gravitational effects that can be tested experimentally. In these equations inertia and gravity appear as external classical fields, but, by conforming to general…
The Einstein equivalence principle is based on the equality of gravitational mass and inertial mass, which has led to the universality of a free-fall concept. The principle has been extremely well tested so far and has been tested with a…
(Short abstract). In Galilean physics, the universality of free fall implies an inertial frame, which in turns implies that the mass m of the falling body is omitted. Otherwise, an additional acceleration proportional to m/M would rise…
We propose an approach that allows to systematically take into account gravity in quantum particle physics. It is based on quantum field theory and the general principle of relativity. These are used to build a model for quantum particles…
Can quantum-mechanical particles propagating on a fixed spacetime background be approximated as test bodies satisfying the weak equivalence principle? We ultimately answer the question in the negative but find that, when universality of…
Recently, several proposals have been made to test the quantum superposition principle in the mesoscopic regime. Most of these tests consist of a careful measurement of the loss of interference due to decoherence. Here we consider, instead,…
In recent years several ideas for experimental searches of effects induced by quantum properties of space-time have been discussed. Some of these ideas concern the role in quantum spacetime of the ordinary Lorentz symmetry of classical flat…
The equivalence principle of gravity is examined at the quantum level using the diffraction in time of matter waves in two ways. First, we consider a quasi-monochromatic beam of particles incident on a shutter which is removed at time $t =…
For the purpose of analyzing observed phenomena, it has been convenient, and thus far sufficient, to regard gravity as subject to the deterministic principles of classical physics, with the gravitational field obeying Newton's law or…
The equivalence principle can be tested by precision experiments based on classical and quantum systems, on the ground as well as in space. In many models, these tests are mostly equivalent in their ability to constrain physics beyond the…
Any canonical quantum theory can be understood to arise from the compatibility of the statistical geometry of distinguishable observations with the canonical Poisson structure of Hamiltonian dynamics. This geometric perspective offers a…
We comment on the fact that certain mathematical models that have been proposed in the quantum gravity literature, may not be subject to experimental checks, even if they turn out to be mathematically well defined. This means that they…
The time of flight distribution for a cloud of cold atoms falling freely under gravity is considered. We generalise the probability current density approach to calculate the quantum arrival time distribution for the mixed state describing…
I consider the possibility that space experiments be used to search for quantum properties of spacetime. On the basis of recent quantum-gravity results, I argue that insight on some quantum properties of spacetime can be obtained with…
In view of the enormous difficulties we seem to face in quantizing general relativity, we should perhaps consider the possibility that gravity is a fundamentally classical interaction. Theoretical arguments against such mixed…
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…
Recently proposed ``table-top tests of quantum gravity'' involve creating, separating and recombining superpositions of masses at non-relativistic speeds. The general expectation is that these generate superpositions of gravitational fields…