Entanglement generation in a two-body Schr\"odinger--Newton model

TL;DR

This paper investigates entanglement generation in a two-body Schr"odinger--Newton model, revealing how initial states and mass ratios influence entanglement dynamics through analytical and numerical methods.

Contribution

It introduces a two-body Schr"odinger--Newton model separating self-localization from pair potential, analyzing entanglement mechanisms and effects of initial conditions.

Findings

Self-field preserves the Schmidt spectrum.

Entanglement depends on initial configuration and mass ratio.

Dispersive states and asymmetry enhance entanglement growth.

Abstract

The Schr\"odinger--Newton (SN) equation provides a semiclassical framework for the evolution of self-gravitating of massive quantum systems. We propose a two-body Schr\"odinger--Newton model that separates local nonlinear self-localization from the nonseparable Newtonian pair potential. Analytically, we show that the nonlinear self-field preserves the Schmidt spectrum, whereas direct entanglement generation arises from the nonseparable pair potential. Using numerical simulations in a regularized one-dimensional geometry, we find that entanglement generation depends sensitively on the initial spatial configuration and on the mass ratio. Highly localized, self-bound wavepackets experience minimal entanglement growth during scattering. Spatial delocalization and kinetic dispersion broaden the interaction region, amplifying the entangling power of the pair potential and exciting higher-order spatial modes. For dispersive Gaussian initial states, mass asymmetry shatters the lighter particle, producing Wigner negativity and rapid entanglement growth, whereas stationary SN profiles strongly suppress this effect. Stationary SN profiles isolate the bare pair-potential contribution; dispersive Gaussian initial states inflate it.