Quantum dynamics of bound states under spacetime fluctuations

TL;DR

This paper models how quantum bound states, like light beams, decohere due to spacetime fluctuations, revealing collective effects such as superradiance that amplify gravitational decoherence.

Contribution

It introduces a Lindblad master equation for gravitational decoherence of bound states and demonstrates collective superradiance effects through numerical simulations.

Findings

Decoherence depends on wave modes in a cavity

Superradiance amplifies gravitational decoherence

Numerical results show collective effects in bosonic particles

Abstract

With recent developments in high-precision quantum measurements, the question of whether observations of decoherence from spacetime fluctuations are accessible experimentally arises. Here we investigate the dynamics of bound states interacting with an environment of gravitons under the Markov approximation. The corresponding Lindblad master equation is presented that enables gravitational decoherence and dissipation due to zero-point spacetime fluctuations to be analyzed. Specifically, we consider a one-dimensional cavity of massless scalar particles that models a light beam with negligible spin polarizations being reflected between two free masses. Numerical simulations have been performed to illustrate the wave-modal dependent decoherence and dissipation of such a configuration. We further demonstrate the existence of nontrivial collective effects akin to superradiance, providing amplifications of gravitational decoherence for a large number of identical bosonic particles.