We propose an optomechanics experiment that can search for signatures of a
fundamentally classical theory of gravity and in particular of the many-body
Schroedinger-Newton (SN) equation, which governs the evolution of a crystal
under a self-gravitational field. The SN equation predicts that the dynamics of
a macroscopic mechanical oscillator's center of mass wavefunction differ from
the predictions of standard quantum mechanics. This difference is largest for
low-frequency oscillators, and for materials, such as Tungsten or Osmium, with
small quantum fluctuations of the constituent atoms around their lattice
equilibrium sites. Light probes the motion of these oscillators and is
eventually measured in order to extract valuable information on the pendulum's
dynamics. Due to the non-linearity contained in the SN equation, we analyze the
fluctuations of measurement results differently than standard quantum
mechanics. We revisit how to model a thermal bath, and the wavefunction
collapse postulate, resulting in two prescriptions for analyzing the quantum
measurement of the light. We demonstrate that both predict features, in the
outgoing light's phase fluctuations' spectrum, which are separate from
classical thermal fluctuations and quantum shot noise, and which can be clearly
resolved with state of the art technology.
Description
[1612.06310] Measurable signatures of quantum mechanics in a classical spacetime
%0 Book
%1 helou2016measurable
%A Helou, Bassam
%A Luo, Jun
%A Yeh, Hsien-Chi
%A Shao, Cheng-gang
%A Slagmolen, B J. J.
%A McClelland, David E.
%A Chen, Yanbei
%D 2016
%K from:klhamm
%T Measurable signatures of quantum mechanics in a classical spacetime
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1612.06310
%X We propose an optomechanics experiment that can search for signatures of a
fundamentally classical theory of gravity and in particular of the many-body
Schroedinger-Newton (SN) equation, which governs the evolution of a crystal
under a self-gravitational field. The SN equation predicts that the dynamics of
a macroscopic mechanical oscillator's center of mass wavefunction differ from
the predictions of standard quantum mechanics. This difference is largest for
low-frequency oscillators, and for materials, such as Tungsten or Osmium, with
small quantum fluctuations of the constituent atoms around their lattice
equilibrium sites. Light probes the motion of these oscillators and is
eventually measured in order to extract valuable information on the pendulum's
dynamics. Due to the non-linearity contained in the SN equation, we analyze the
fluctuations of measurement results differently than standard quantum
mechanics. We revisit how to model a thermal bath, and the wavefunction
collapse postulate, resulting in two prescriptions for analyzing the quantum
measurement of the light. We demonstrate that both predict features, in the
outgoing light's phase fluctuations' spectrum, which are separate from
classical thermal fluctuations and quantum shot noise, and which can be clearly
resolved with state of the art technology.
@book{helou2016measurable,
abstract = {We propose an optomechanics experiment that can search for signatures of a
fundamentally classical theory of gravity and in particular of the many-body
Schroedinger-Newton (SN) equation, which governs the evolution of a crystal
under a self-gravitational field. The SN equation predicts that the dynamics of
a macroscopic mechanical oscillator's center of mass wavefunction differ from
the predictions of standard quantum mechanics. This difference is largest for
low-frequency oscillators, and for materials, such as Tungsten or Osmium, with
small quantum fluctuations of the constituent atoms around their lattice
equilibrium sites. Light probes the motion of these oscillators and is
eventually measured in order to extract valuable information on the pendulum's
dynamics. Due to the non-linearity contained in the SN equation, we analyze the
fluctuations of measurement results differently than standard quantum
mechanics. We revisit how to model a thermal bath, and the wavefunction
collapse postulate, resulting in two prescriptions for analyzing the quantum
measurement of the light. We demonstrate that both predict features, in the
outgoing light's phase fluctuations' spectrum, which are separate from
classical thermal fluctuations and quantum shot noise, and which can be clearly
resolved with state of the art technology.},
added-at = {2016-12-20T14:13:01.000+0100},
author = {Helou, Bassam and Luo, Jun and Yeh, Hsien-Chi and Shao, Cheng-gang and Slagmolen, B J. J. and McClelland, David E. and Chen, Yanbei},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2c2b144da961d4e0907e3fef9e96c1366/journalclubqo},
description = {[1612.06310] Measurable signatures of quantum mechanics in a classical spacetime},
interhash = {597efdf9a90c031c54906909fe374cab},
intrahash = {c2b144da961d4e0907e3fef9e96c1366},
keywords = {from:klhamm},
note = {cite arxiv:1612.06310},
timestamp = {2016-12-20T14:13:01.000+0100},
title = {Measurable signatures of quantum mechanics in a classical spacetime},
url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1612.06310},
year = 2016
}