Critique of an Experiment Regarding Quantum States in a Gravitational Field and Possible Geometrical Explanations

Abstract

We discuss an experiment conducted by Nesvizhevsky et al. As it is the first experiment claimed to have observed gravitational quantum states, it is imperative to investigate all alternative explanations of the result. In a student project course in applied quantum mechanics, we consider the possibility of quantummechanical effects arising from the geometry of the experimental setup, due to the "cavity" formed. We try to reproduce the experimental result using geometrical arguments only. Due to the influence of several unknown parameters our result is still inconclusive.

10 pages, 4 figures, Student project in applied quantum mechanics