arXiv · 1906.03400
Photon bunching in a rotating reference frame
Abstract
Although quantum physics is well understood in inertial reference frames (flat spacetime), a current challenge is the search for experimental evidence of non-trivial or unexpected behaviour of quantum systems in non-inertial frames. Here, we present a novel test of quantum mechanics in a non-inertial reference frame: we consider Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference on a rotating platform and study the effect of uniform rotation on the distinguishability of the photons. Both theory and experiments show that the rotational motion induces a relative delay in the photon arrival times at the exit beamsplitter and that this delay is observed as a shift in the position of the HOM dip. This experiment can be extended to a full general relativistic test of quantum physics using satellites in Earth orbit and indicates a new route towards the use of photonic technologies for investigating quantum mechanics at the interface with relativity.
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Sara Restuccia, Marko Toros, Graham M. Gibson, Hendrik Ulbricht, Daniele Faccio, Miles J. Padgett. 2019-06-08. Photon bunching in a rotating reference frame. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.123.110401
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