Entanglement dynamics of photon pairs and quantum memories in the gravitational field of the earth

TL;DR

This paper explores how Earth's gravity influences entanglement in photon pairs and quantum memories, proposing feasible experiments to observe relativistic effects on quantum states relevant for future global quantum networks.

Contribution

It provides the first analysis of gravitational effects on space-based quantum memories and suggests near-future experiments to detect these effects using interferometry.

Findings

Potential to observe gravitationally induced entanglement decay with current technology

First theoretical analysis linking general relativity and quantum light states in space-based setups

Implications for secure global quantum communication networks

Abstract

We investigate the effect of entanglement dynamics due to gravity -- the basis of a mechanism of universal decoherence -- for photonic states and quantum memories in Mach-Zehnder and Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometry setups in the gravitational field of the earth. We show that chances are good to witness the effect with near-future technology in Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometry. This would represent an experimental test of theoretical modeling combining a multi-particle effect predicted by the quantum theory of light and an effect predicted by general relativity. Our article represents the first analysis of relativistic gravitational effects on space-based quantum memories which are expected to be an important ingredient for global quantum communication networks.