Relativistic effects on the Schr\"odinger-Newton equation

TL;DR

This paper derives a relativistic extension of the Schr"odinger-Newton equation to assess how relativistic effects influence gravitational localization, finding that relativistic corrections enhance self-gravitation and localization of quantum particles.

Contribution

The authors develop a first post-Newtonian relativistic modification of the Schr"odinger-Newton equation and analyze its effects on wave function dynamics and localization.

Findings

Slower dispersion of wave packets with relativistic corrections.

Localized states occur at smaller radii due to increased self-gravitation.

Relativistic effects strengthen the gravitational localization mechanism.

Abstract

The Schr\"odinger-Newton model describes self-gravitating quantum particles, and it is often cited to explain the gravitational collapse of the wave function and the localization of macroscopic objects. However, this model is completely nonrelativistic. Thus, in order to study whether the relativistic effects may spoil the properties of this system, we derive a modification of the Schr\"odinger-Newton equation by considering certain relativistic corrections up to the first post-Newtonian order. The construction of the model begins by considering the Hamiltonian of a relativistic particle propagating on a curved background. For simplicity, the background metric is assumed to be spherically symmetric and it is then expanded up to the first post-Newtonian order. After performing the canonical quantization of the system, and following the usual interpretation, the square of the module of the wave function defines a mass distribution, which in turn is the source of the Poisson equation for the gravitational potential. As in the nonrelativistic case, this construction couples the Poisson and the Schr\"odinger equations and leads to a complicated nonlinear system. Hence, the dynamics of an initial Gaussian wave packet is then numerically analyzed. We observe that the natural dispersion of the wave function is slower than in the nonrelativistic case. Furthermore, for those cases that reach a final localized stationary state, the peak of the wave function happens to be located at a smaller radius. Therefore, the relativistic corrections effectively contribute to increase the self-gravitation of the particle and strengthen the validity of this model as an explanation for the gravitational localization of the wave function.