Understanding nature from experimental observations: a theory independent test for gravitational decoherence

Abstract

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 of which can be described quantum mechanically. In parallel, several experiments have been proposed to test some of these models, where the data obtained by such experiments is analyzed assuming quantum mechanics. Since we may need to modify quantum mechanics to account for gravity, however, one may question the validity of using quantum mechanics as a calculational tool to draw conclusions from experiments concerning gravity. Here we propose an experiment to estimate gravitational decoherence whose conclusions hold even if quantum mechanics would need to be modified. We first establish a general information-theoretic notion of decoherence which reduces to the standard measure within quantum mechanics. Second, drawing on ideas from quantum information, we propose a very general experiment that allows us to obtain a quantitative estimate of decoherence of any physical process for any physical theory satisfying only very mild conditions.Finally, we propose a concrete experiment using optomechanics to estimate gravitational decoherence in any such theory, including quantum mechanics as a special case. Our work raises the interesting question whether other properties of nature could similarly be established from experimental observations alone - that is, without already having a rather well formed theory of nature like quantum mechanics to make sense of experimental data.

42 pages, 15 figures, revtex, Preliminary version - comments very welcome! (email SW at steph [at] locc.la)

References in corpus (11)

• Device-independent security of quantum cryptography against collective attacks
• Large Quantum Superpositions and Interference of Massive Nanometer-Sized Objects
• The uncertainty principle determines the non-locality of quantum mechanics
• A derivation of quantum theory from physical requirements
• Is Entanglement Monogamous?
• Quantum gravitational decoherence of matter waves
• How Stands Collapse II
• Decoherence in Quantum Gravity: Issues and Critiques
• Macroscopic superpositions via nested interferometry: finite temperature and decoherence considerations
• Stress Tensor for Quantized Random Field and Wave Function Collapse
• Stronger-than-quantum bipartite correlations violate relativistic causality in the classical limit

Cited by in corpus (26)

• A Spin Entanglement Witness for Quantum Gravity
• Modelling and Simulating the Noisy Behaviour of Near-term Quantum Computers
• Quantum gravitational decoherence from fluctuating minimal length and deformation parameter at the Planck scale
• Gravimetry through non-linear optomechanics
• Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement and asymmetric steering between distant macroscopic mechanical and magnonic systems
• Massive quantum systems as interfaces of quantum mechanics and gravity
• Information scrambling vs. decoherence -- two competing sinks for entropy
• Optimal estimation with quantum optomechanical systems in the nonlinear regime
• Unitarity, Feedback, Interactions -- Dynamics Emergent from Repeated Measurements
• Testing the quantum nature of gravity without entanglement
• A weak form of self-testing
• Chirality-induced one-way quantum steering between two waveguide-mediated ferrimagnetic microspheres
• Strong Mechanical Squeezing for a Levitated Particle by Coherent Scattering
• Quantum principle of sensing gravitational waves: From the zero-point fluctuations to the cosmological stochastic background of spacetime
• Quantum coherence, radiance, and resistance of gravitational systems
• Nanomechanical test of quantum linearity
• Parallelized telecom quantum networking with a ytterbium-171 atom array
• Coherence and quantum correlations measure sensitivity to dephasing channels
• Dueling Dynamical Backaction in a Cryogenic Optomechanical Cavity
• On the origin of force sensitivity in tests of quantum gravity with delocalised mechanical systems
• Quantum dynamics of bound states under spacetime fluctuations
• A simple gravitational self-decoherence model
• Gauge protected entanglement between gravity and matter
• A No-go theorem for device-independent security in relativistic causal theories
• Quantum state of fields in $SU(\infty )$ Quantum Gravity ($SU(\infty )$-QGR)
• Collective versus individual classicality for a pair of interacting qubits immersed in independent local environments