Principle of equivalence and wave-particle duality in quantum gravity

TL;DR

This paper explores how quantum mechanics and general relativity may influence each other at their interface, suggesting modifications to the principle of equivalence and wave-particle duality with potential implications for early universe understanding and laboratory experiments.

Contribution

It proposes concrete modifications to the principles of equivalence and wave-particle duality arising from quantum-gravitational effects, bridging conceptual gaps between quantum mechanics and general relativity.

Findings

Quantum states without classical counterparts violate the principle of equivalence.

Gravitational effects modify the de Broglie wave-particle duality.

Implications for early universe and laboratory experiments.

Abstract

This talk presents: (a) A quantum-mechanically induced violation of the principle of equivalence, and (b) Gravitationally-induced modification to the wave particle duality. In this context I note that the agreement between the predictions of general relativity and observations of the energy loss due to gravitational waves emitted by binary pulsars is just as impressive as the agreement between prediction of quantum electrodynamics and the measured value of Lamb shift in atoms. However, general relativity has not yet yielded to a successful quantised theory. There is a widespread belief that the two thories are incompatible at some deep level. The question is: where? Here, I show that the conceptual foundations of the theory of general relativity and quantum mechanics are so rich that they suggest concrete modifications into each other in the interface region. Specifically, I consider quantum states that have no classical counterpart and show that such states must carry an inherent violation of the principle of equivalence. On the other hand, I show that when gravitational effects are incorporated into the quantum measurement process one must induce a gravitationally induced modification to the de Broglie's wave-particle duality. The reported changes into the foundations of the two theories are far from in-principle modifications. These are endowed with serious implications for the understanding of the early universe and, in certain instances, can be explored in terrestrial laboratories.