相关论文: Does universality of free-fall apply to the motion…
With an eye on developing a quantum theory of gravity, many physicists have recently searched for quantum challenges to the equivalence principle of general relativity. However, as historians and philosophers of science are well aware, the…
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 =…
Free fall experiments are discussed by using test masses associated to quantum states not necessarily possessing a classical counterpart. The times of flight of the Galileian experiments using classical test masses are replaced in the…
We present the scientific motivation for future space tests of the equivalence principle, and in particular the universality of free fall, at the $10^{-17}$ level or better. Two possible mission scenarios, one based on quantum technologies,…
Einstein's equivalence principle in classical physics is a rule stating that the effect of gravitation is locally equivalent to the acceleration of an observer. The principle determines the motion of test particles uniquely (modulo very…
We ask the question how the (weak) equivalence principle established in classical gravitational physics should be reformulated and interpreted for massive quantum objects that may also have internal degrees of freedom (dof). This inquiry is…
The unification of quantum theory and the general theory of relativity - describing gravity, is one of the most important challenges in science. Einstein's general theory of relativity is based on the principle of equivalence, and has been…
A quantum particle moving in a gravitational field may penetrate the classically forbidden region of the gravitational potential. This raises the question of whether the time of flight of a quantum particle in a gravitational field might…
I wish to expound a novel perspective of probing universal character of gravity. To begin with, inclusion of zero mass particle in mechanics leads to special relativity while its interaction with a universal force shared by all particles…
The superposition principle is the cornerstone of quantum mechanics, leading to a variety of genuinely quantum effects. Whether the principle applies also to macroscopic systems or, instead, there is a progressive breakdown when moving to…
By generalizing the quantum weak measurement protocol to the case of quantum fields, we show that weak measurements probe an effective classical background field that describes the average field configuration in the spacetime region between…
We point out that the universality of free-fall can be tested by observing surface-gravity changes of the Earth. The Earth's inner core is weakly coupled to the rest part of the Earth by mainly gravitational forces. If there were a…
Can quantum theory be applied on all scales? While there are many arguments for the universality of quantum theory, this question remains a subject of debate. It is unknown how far the existence of macroscopic irreversibility can be derived…
The universality of free fall is one of the most cherished principles in classical gravity. Its fate in the quantum world is one of the key questions in fundamental physics. We investigate the universality of free fall in the context of…
We review the question of whether the fundamental laws of nature limit our ability to probe arbitrarily short distances. First, we examine what insights can be gained from thought experiments for probes of shortest distances, and summarize…
Inspired by Einstein's Strong Principle of Equivalence we consider the effects of quantum mechanics to the gravity-like phenomena experienced by an observer in a uniformly accelerating motion in flat spacetime. Among other things, our model…
The quantum analogue of Galileo's leaning tower experiment is revisited using wave packets evolving under the gravitational potential. We first calculate the position detection probabilities for particles projected upwards against gravity…
On the basis of the relativistic mass-energy concept we found that a proper mass of a test particle in a gravitational field depends on a potential energy, hence, a freely falling particle has a varying proper mass. Consequently, a…
The arrival time probability distribution is defined by analogy with the classical mechanics. The difficulty of requirement to have the values of non-commuting operators is circumvented using the concept of weak measurements. The proposed…
It is shown that quantum particle detectors are not reliable probes of spacetime structure. In particular, they fail to distinguish between inertial and non-inertial motion in a general spacetime. To prove this, we consider detectors…