Journal
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 2, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1498
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Austrian Science Fund (FWF) [W1210, P19570-N16, SFB-FOQUS]
- Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi)
- European Commission [248095]
- Austrian Science Fund (FWF) [W1210] Funding Source: Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Current attempts to probe general relativistic effects in quantum mechanics focus on precision measurements of phase shifts in matter-wave interferometry. Yet, phase shifts can always be explained as arising because of an Aharonov-Bohm effect, where a particle in a flat space-time is subject to an effective potential. Here we propose a quantum effect that cannot be explained without the general relativistic notion of proper time. We consider interference of a 'clock'-a particle with evolving internal degrees of freedom-that will not only display a phase shift, but also reduce the visibility of the interference pattern. According to general relativity, proper time flows at different rates in different regions of space-time. Therefore, because of quantum complementarity, the visibility will drop to the extent to which the path information becomes available from reading out the proper time from the 'clock'. Such a gravitationally induced decoherence would provide the first test of the genuine general relativistic notion of proper time in quantum mechanics.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available