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arXiv · 1410.2303

The Instability of a Quantum Superposition of Time Dilations

Louk Rademaker·Tom van der Reep·Nick Van den Broeck·Bob van Waarde·Marc de Voogd·Tjerk Oosterkamp
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Abstract

Using the relativistic concept of time dilation we show that a superposition of gravitational potentials can lead to nonunitary time evolution. For sufficiently weak gravitational potentials one can still define, for all intents and purposes, a global coordinate system. A probe particle in a superposition of weak gravitational fields will, however, experience dephasing due to the different time dilations. The corresponding instability timescale is accessible to experiments, and can be used as a degree of macroscopicity. Finally, we suggest an experiment with smoothly tunable amplification in a microwave interferometer that allows a quantitative study of the quantum to classical boundary.

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Louk Rademaker, Tom van der Reep, Nick Van den Broeck, Bob van Waarde, Marc de Voogd, Tjerk Oosterkamp. 2014-10-08. The Instability of a Quantum Superposition of Time Dilations. https://arxiv.org/abs/1410.2303

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