paper

Using an atom interferometer to infer gravitational entanglement generation

arXiv:2101.11629 · doi:10.1103/PRXQuantum.2.030330

Abstract

If gravitational perturbations are quantized into gravitons in analogy with the electromagnetic field and photons, the resulting graviton interactions should lead to an entangling interaction between massive objects. We suggest a test of this prediction. To do this, we introduce the concept of interactive quantum information sensing. This novel sensing protocol is tailored to provable verification of weak dynamical entanglement generation between a pair of systems. We show that this protocol is highly robust to typical thermal noise sources. The sensitivity can moreover be increased both using an initial thermal state and/or an initial phase of entangling via a non-gravitational interaction. We outline a concrete implementation testing the ability of the gravitational field to generate entanglement between an atomic interferometer and mechanical oscillator. Preliminary numerical estimates suggest that near-term devices could feasibly be used to perform the experiment.

24 pages + appendices, 6 figures. v2, published version: new title, more details (and appendix) about relation to quantization of gravity, more precise statement about entangling channel testing vs. entanglement quantification. v3: there is a technical error that changes some conclusions; see arXiv:2111.04667 for detailed errata

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