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Quantum Interference to Measure Spacetime Curvature: A Proposed Experiment at the Intersection of Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity

Raymond Y. Chiao·Achilles D. Speliotopoulos
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Abstract

An experiment in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is proposed to measure components of the Riemann curvature tensor using atom interferometry. We show that the difference in the quantum phase $Δϕ$ of an atom that can travel along two intersecting geodesics is given by $mR_{0i0j}/\hbar$ times the spacetime volume contained within the geodesics. Our expression for $Δϕ$ also holds for gravitational waves in the long wavelength limit.

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Raymond Y. Chiao, Achilles D. Speliotopoulos. 2003-04-07. Quantum Interference to Measure Spacetime Curvature: A Proposed Experiment at the Intersection of Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity. https://doi.org/10.1142/s0218271803003943

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