On the decoherence effect of a stochastic gravitational perturbation on scalar matter and the possibility of its interferometric detection

TL;DR

This paper derives a master equation describing how weak stochastic gravitational fields cause decoherence in scalar particles, offering a practical way to detect such effects via matter wave experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive master equation for scalar particles under stochastic gravity and applies it to experimental scenarios, clarifying previous conflicting results.

Findings

Decoherence occurs in both position and momentum due to stochastic gravity.

The model provides a formula to estimate gravitational decoherence in matter wave experiments.

Comparison shows gravitational decoherence can be distinguished from other sources.

Abstract

We present a general master equation for the quantum dynamics of a scalar bosonic particle interacting with an external weak and stochastic gravitational field. The dynamics predicts decoherence in position as well as in momentum. We show how the master equation reproduces the results present in the literature by taking appropriate limits, thus explaining the apparent contradiction in their dynamical description. We apply our model to a matter wave experiment, providing a practical formula for determining of the magnitude of gravitational decoherence. We compare it with the standard experimental sources of decoherence.