Dephasing of entangled atoms as an improved test of quantum gravity

TL;DR

This paper proposes using entangled N-atom GHZ states in atomic beams to improve sensitivity in testing quantum gravity effects, surpassing traditional atom interferometers, with feasible experiments using Rydberg atoms and microwave resonators.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach leveraging entangled GHZ states for enhanced quantum gravity tests, demonstrating better scaling and experimental feasibility.

Findings

Entangled GHZ states offer superior sensitivity scaling compared to atom interferometers.

Proposed experiments with Rydberg atoms can significantly improve detection of conformal field fluctuations.

Current technology is capable of implementing the suggested experimental setup.

Abstract

In a recent article Wang et al. (Class. Quantum Grav. 23 (2006) L59), demonstrated that the phase of a particle fluctuates due to interactions with random deviations of a conformal gravitational field. Furthermore they demonstrated that atom interferometers are sensitive to these fluctuations and that sensitivity to Planck scale effects could be achieved with a sufficiently sensitive interferometer. In this paper we demonstrate that a class of entangled states, the N-atom Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states, provide a better scaling than atom interferometers and that current experiments are capable of making a significant impact in this field. We outline an experiment which uses atomic beams of rubidium atoms excited to Rydberg states. The atoms undergo controlled collisions in high quality factor microwave resonators in a sequence that makes the resulting state highly sensitive to conformal field fluctuations. We show that a significant advance in sensitivity is possible.