arXiv subjects

Anupam Mazumdar

Publications and source records attributed to Anupam Mazumdar.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Differential and Common Decoherence Modes in Witnessing the Quantum Gravity-Induced Entanglement of Matter

In the context of the QGEM (Quantum Gravity-induced Entanglement of Masses) experiment, we consider two adjacent matter-wave interferometers in linear and parallel configurations that interact solely via gravity. If gravity were quantum, then the two matter-wave interferometers would become entangled via the virtual excitation of the massless graviton. In this paper, we consider witnessing this entanglement by considering a generic experimental scenario where the two interferometers are subject to different global phases and different decoherence rates. In this context, we show that the individual global phases do not affect the witness, discuss common and differential decoherence modes, and perform the parameter search optimal for different masses. We provide a mathematical framework for these asymmetric decoherence rates and then search for parameters that determine the entanglement witness. We have kept the inter-separation distance between the two closest superpositions of the interferometers' masses fixed while varying the experimental time from $τ=0.1$ s to $τ=1$ s. Finishing the experiment at $ τ=0.1$ s has many advantages from the point of view of protecting the experiment from random acceleration noise. However, witnessing the entanglement also suffers from $\langle W\rangle \sim -{\cal O}(10^{-2})$ for $m=10^{-14}$~kg, for decoherence rate in the ranges of ${\cal O}(10^{-1}-1)$~Hz for $τ=0.1$ s experiment. However, as we show, increasing the mass of the matter-wave interferometer may improve the witness considerably.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Random acceleration noise on Stern-Gerlach Interferometry in a Harmonic Trap

We analyze decoherence in a one-loop Stern--Gerlach--type matter-wave interferometer for a massive nanoparticle embedded with a nitrogen vacancy (NV)-centered nanodiamond evolving under an effective harmonic-oscillator dynamics in a magnetic-field gradient. We assume that the Stern-Gerlach interferometer is subjected to an acceleration $\vec{a}$ external to the system, which is at an angle $θ_0$ with respect to the direction of the superposition. For a one loop interferometer, we quantify dephasing from two noise channels: fluctuations in the external acceleration $δa(t)$ and fluctuations in the tilt angle $δθ(t)$. At the level of the action, we treat these two external noise as stochastic inputs, compute the resulting stochastic phase difference between the interferometer arms, and obtain the dephasing rate $Γ$. We obtain the transfer function of the interferometer for each of the noise sources. We also show explicit results of constraints on the power spectral density of the noise sources for an interferometer that produces a superposition size of $Δx\sim 1$nm of a nanodiamond of mass $m=10^{-15}~\mathrm{kg}$ by considering white noise statistics and imposing a coherence target $Γτ\leq 1$, where $τ\simeq 0.015~\mathrm{s}$. We find $\sqrt{\mathcal{S}_{aa}}\lesssim \mathcal{O}(10^{-11})~\mathrm{m\,s^{-2}\,Hz^{-1/2}}$ if we take the external acceleration, $a=0~{\rm ms^{-2}}$ and $θ_0=0^\circ$ (along the direction of the superposition), and $\sqrt{\mathcal{S}_{θθ}}\lesssim \mathcal{O}(10^{-10})~\mathrm{rad\,Hz^{-1/2}}$ for $a=g= 9.81~\mathrm{m\,s^{-2}}$ and $θ_0=90^\circ$ (superposition direction is perpendicular to the Earth's gravity). We have also found an operating regime where the acceleration noise can be minimized by either varying $θ_0$ or $a$ for a fixed set of other experimental parameters.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Evolution of tripartite entanglement in three-qubit Quantum Gravity-Induced Entanglement of Masses (QGEM) with quantum decoherence

The recently introduced quantum gravity-induced entanglement of masses (QGEM) protocol aims to test the quantum nature of gravity by witnessing the entanglement produced by the virtual exchange of a graviton between two spatially superposed masses. Shortly after the original proposal, further improvements upon the experiment were suggested, including the addition of a third mass, showing that three-qubit setups can be more resilient to higher rates of decoherence caused by the interaction of the system with the environment. In this work, we investigate the type of tripartite entanglement generated in these three-qubit QGEM experiments when considering the effects of decoherence. We show that the gravitational interaction between the qubits is able to generate genuine tripartite entanglement between them, studying the corresponding parameter spaces and comparing the performance of the possible experimental configurations of the three qubits at allowing for the detection of genuine entanglement via an entanglement witness.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Momentum Diffusion, Decoherence and Drag Force on a Magnetic Nanoparticle

In this paper, we will provide a complete derivation of the decoherence rate for a magnetic nanoparticle in quantum superposition in the presence of the fluctuating electromagnetic field in a thermal background by using the fluctuation-dissipation theorem in the long-wavelength limit. The long-wavelength limit assumes that the superposition size is much smaller than the wavelength of the electromagentic filed fluctuations. We will extend this computation to two diamagnetic nanoparticles kept in quantum superposition adjacent to each other. We will also show how the drag force on a single nanoparticle arises from external electromagnetic-field fluctuations, and compare our results with those for the nanoparticle's dielectric properties.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Entanglement dynamics through electromagnetic interactions in single-electron traps

We study the dynamics of quantum entanglement between two harmonically trapped electrons interacting via the electromagnetic force. Starting from two-mode Gaussian states at thermal equilibrium, we make use of the covariance matrix formalism in order to compute the logarithmic negativity of the evolved state as a quantitative measure of entanglement. We analyze two initial configurations: thermal single-mode and two-mode squeezed states, and describe the time evolution of entanglement in the system for different values of squeezing and temperature, while identifying the parameter regimes accessible to current and near-future single-electron trap experiments.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

(De)Coherence of a quantum system in an anti-de Sitter spacetime

In this paper, we study the coherence/decoherence of a quantum harmonic oscillator in anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime by quantising the graviton in a curved background with a nontrivial boundary condition. In the quantum-field-theory framework, we obtain a master equation by tracing away the gravitational field at the leading order in G and 1/omega^2, where omega is related to the trapped frequency of the harmonic oscillator. We will proceed with a semi-Markovian analysis to compute the Lindbladian equation and estimate the decoherence rate and selection rules at the leading order, which come in two kinds: one responsible for the local interaction between matter and graviton, and the other related to the AdS global curvature. The latter determines the recoherence of the quantum system for a certain choice of the trapped harmonic oscillator's frequency and the global curvature. We also demonstrate that we recover the flat spacetime limit by taking appropriate approximations.

hep-th↗

arXiv2026

Graviton-mediated entanglement due to light bending from a quantum rotor

One of the key tests of the quantum nature of gravity is to test whether the virtual mediator of gravity between matter and photon gives rise to the quantum light-bending phenomenon. The off-shell degrees of freedom, involving the spin-2 and spin-0 components of graviton, reproduce the classical deviation of light rays, as well as have been predicted to generate entanglement between matter and photon. This paper explores the generation of entanglement due to the quantum gravitational interaction in an optomechanical setup with a quantum rotor and photon. The virtual exchange of a graviton provides entanglement between the photon degrees of freedom and the spatial position of the quantum rotor, with the rotational state affecting its magnitude. We analyze the case of a high spinning rotor, in an approximately classical state of angular momentum, and quantify its effect on the gravitationally induced entanglement between the photon and the position of the quantum rotor. We show that the difference in the linear entanglement entropies, of prograde-and-retrograde motion of the photon with respect to the quantum rotor, provide tangible observable consequences.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Spatial Qubit Entanglement Witness for Quantum Natured Gravity

Evidencing the quantum nature of gravity through the entanglement of two masses has recently been proposed. Proposals using qubits to witness this entanglement can afford to bring two masses close enough so that the complete 1/r interaction is at play (as opposed to its second-order Taylor expansion), and micron-sized masses separated by 10-100 microns (with or without electromagnetic screening) suffice to provide a 0.01-1 Hz rate of growth of entanglement. Yet the only viable method proposed for obtaining qubit witnesses so far has been to employ spins embedded in the masses, whose correlations are used to witness the entanglement developed between masses during interferometry. This comes with the dual challenge of incorporating spin coherence-preserving methodologies into the protocol, as well as a demanding precision of control fields for the accurate completion of spin-aided (Stern-Gerlach) interferometry. Here we show that if superpositions of distinct spatially localized states of each mass can be created, whatever the means, simple position correlation measurements alone can yield a spatial qubit witness of entanglement between the masses. We find that a significant squeezing at a specific stage of the protocol is the principal new requirement (in addition to the need to maintain spatial quantum coherence) for its viability

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

Quantum gravitational contrast in creating Schrödinger cat state

In this paper, we illustrate how a Schrödinger cat state created via a matter-wave interferometer can be viewed as the simplest quantum-gravity setup where we can treat both matter and gravity on an equal footing at a perturbative level. Here we treat Einstein's theory of general relativity using an effective field theory approach, quantising the massless spin-2 graviton in the presence of a quantum spatial superposition of matter that creates a matter-wave interferometer in the non-relativistic limit. We show that due to the matter-graviton coupling the graviton vacuum is displaced analogous to the coherent state. We study the contrast/overlap between the coherent states of the left and right superpositions in the matter-wave interferometer. We also study the entanglement between matter and the graviton in this setup and relate it to a gravitational contrast, or the overlap of the quantum geometries led by the coherent states. In the appendix, we provide an example of a time-dependent harmonic oscillator and study the contrast/overlap of such coherent states of the graviton.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

Witnessing entanglement between photon and matter due to graviton exchange

The paper presents a scheme to detect entanglement arising from the quantum nature of gravity between a spin qubit and photons, using Stokes parameters. One of the crucial tests of the general theory of relativity is the bending of light due to the curvature. Recently, a quantum counterpart of this experiment to test the quantum nature of the gravitational interaction has been proposed, in which the spin-2, massless graviton yields entanglement between matter and a photon sector. Hence, it provides one of the most crucial experimental signatures for testing the quantum nature of gravity in a lab, since only spin-2-induced entanglement can yield the correct deflection of light due to matter. Here, we propose a positive partial-transpose (PPT) witness criterion for witnessing such an entanglement. We scan the entangled states in this context by studying the overlap of the final state, which is proportional to the entanglement phase. We exploit the Stokes observables to measure the photon state and the spins in the matter sector, thereby constructing a witness for the quantum nature of gravity in this setup. To quantify this entanglement, we will couple the photon to a local oscillator, whose phase need to be controlled to probe the orthogonal components of the macroscopic interference in the laser beam. We have shown that for a non-maximally entangled state mediated by the quantum nature of gravity, the witness attains a maximal negativity of $-0.052$. Our findings indicate that this witness effectively detects entanglement within the range $0.71 \leq |γ| < 1$, where $γ$ is the overlap between the two coherent states of the photon, providing a clear signature of quantum correlations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Two-dimensional matter-wave interferometer, rotational dynamics, and spin contrast

We investigate a two-dimensional matter-wave interferometer where both spatial and rotational dynamics of a nanoparticle are intertwined in closing the one-loop interferometer in the Stern-Gerlach type setup. We consider the spin-contrast of the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centred nanodiamond in combination with a two-dimensional magnetic field setup to extend the one-dimensional Stern--Gerlach interferometry. We analyse the dynamical motion along with the rigid rotation under the influence of the external magnetic field. Regarding rotation, we incorporate Euler-angle dynamics to analyse the stability of rotational degrees of freedom and their influence on the spin contrast to address the Humpty-Dumpty problem. We show that by imparting external rotation provides the gyroscopic stability to the liberating mode of the NV-spin and hence helps to improve the contrast. Our scheme creates a tiny spatial superposition of size $\sim 0.21~{\rm μm}$ for mass $m=10^{-17}$kg in less than $t\sim 0.013$s.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Spatial superposition for a two-dimensional matter-wave interferometer in an inverted harmonic potential with gyroscopic rotational stability

This study presents a mathematical model of the spatial and rotational motion of a nanodiamond in an inverted harmonic potential to create a macroscopic quantum spatial superposition. The model is based on the Stern-Gerlach Interferometer (SGI) scheme, which utilises linear and quadratic magnetic fields to generate a harmonic potential (linear magnetic field) and a non-linear potential (non-linear/quadratic magnetic field). By incorporating two-dimensional dynamics into the model, we provide a more realistic and accurate depiction of nanoparticle dynamics in linear and inverted harmonic potentials and explore the interaction between motion in a two-dimensional plane. Importantly, we derive the equations of motion for the rotational degrees of freedom, i.e. libration, precession, and rotation. The results show that adding a magnetic-field bias term to the magnetic-field profile in the linear stage affects the classical equations of motion but does not affect the width of the wave packet. Moreover, the libration mode always forms a harmonic potential at each stage because the applied initial angular velocity is dominated by the nanoparticle's defect axis, making it more stable in the presence of the trap frequency in the orthogonal direction along the axis that enables the creation of a macroscopic quantum superposition.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Magnetic levitation and spatial superposition of a nanodiamond with a current-carrying chip

We propose a current-carrying-chip scheme for generating spatial quantum superpositions using a levitating nanodiamond with a built-in nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centre defect. Our setup is quite versatile and we aim to create the superposition for a mass range of $10^{-19}~{\rm kg}< m< 10^{-15}~{\rm kg}$ and a superposition size ${\cal O}(10) {\rm μm} < Δx < {\cal O}(1){\rm nm}$, respectively, in $t\leq 0.1$s, depending on the position we launch from the center of the diamagnetic trap. We provide an in-depth analysis of two parallel chips that can create levitation and spatial superposition along the $x$-axis, while producing a very tight trap in the $y$ direction, and the direction of gravity, i.e., the $z$ direction. Numerical simulations demonstrate that our setup can create a one-dimensional spatial superposition state along the x-axis. Throughout this process, the particle is stably levitated in the z-direction, and its motion is effectively confined in the y-direction for a Gaussian initial condition. This setup presents a viable platform for a diamagnetically levitated nanoparticle for a table-top experiment exploring the possibility of creating a macroscopic Schrödinger Cat state to test the quantum gravity induced entanglement of masses (QGEM) protocol.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Magnetic noise in macroscopic quantum spatial superposition induced by inverted harmonic oscillator potential

We investigate a Stern-Gerlach type matter-wave interferometer where an inhomogeneous magnetic field couples to an embedded spin in a nanoparticle to create spatial superpositions. Employing a sequence of harmonic and inverted harmonic oscillator potentials created by external magnetic fields, we aim to enhance the one-dimensional superposition of a nanodiamond with mass $\sim 10^{-15}$ kg to $\sim 1 μ$m. However, random fluctuations of the magnetic field stochastically perturbs the interferometer paths and induce dephasing. We quantitatively estimate the susceptibility of the interferometer to white noise arising from magnetic-field fluctuations. Constraining the dephasing rate $Γ$ to be low enough that the final coherence $e^{-Γτ}\leq 0.1$ (where $τ$ is the experimental time duration), we obtain the following bounds on the noise to signal ratios: $δη_\text{IHP}/η_\text{IHP}\lesssim 10^{-13}$, where $η_\text{IHP}$ is the magnetic field curvature that gives rise to the inverted harmonic potential, and $δη_\text{HP}/η_\text{HP}\lesssim 10^{-6}$, where $η_\text{HP}$ is the linear magnetic field gradient that gives rise to the harmonic potential. For such tiny fluctuations, we demonstrate that the Humpty-Dumpty problem arising from a mismatch in position and momentum does not cause a loss in contrast of the interferometer. Further, we show that constraining the dephasing rate leads to stricter bounds on the noise parameters than enforcing a contrast threshold, indicating that good dephasing control ensures high interferometric contrast.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Diamagnetic microchip traps for levitated nanoparticle entanglement experiments

The Quantum Gravity Mediated Entanglement (QGEM) protocol offers a novel method to probe the quantumness of gravitational interactions at non-relativistic scales. This protocol leverages the Stern-Gerlach effect to create $\mathcal{O}(\sim μm)$ spatial superpositions of two nanodiamonds (mass $\sim 10^{-15}$ kg) with NV spins, which are then allowed to interact and become entangled solely through the gravitational interaction. Since electromagnetic interactions such as Casimir-Polder and dipole-dipole interactions dominate at this scale, screening them to ensure the masses interact exclusively via gravity is crucial. In this paper, we propose using magnetic traps based on micro-fabricated wires, which provide strong gradients with relatively modest magnetic fields to trap nanoparticles for interferometric entanglement experiments. The design consists of a small trap to cool the center-of-mass motion of the nanodiamonds and a long trap with a weak direction suitable for creating macroscopic superpositions. In contrast to permanent-magnet-based long traps, the micro-fabricated wire-based approach allows fast switching of the magnetic trapping and state manipulation potentials and permits integrated superconducting shielding, which can screen both electrostatic and magnetic interactions between nanodiamonds in a gravitational entanglement experiment. The setup also provides a possible platform for other tests of quantum coherence in macroscopic systems and searches for novel short-range forces.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Entanglement witnesses mediated via axionLike particles

Entanglement is solely a quantum property and it can be extremely helpful to test the physics beyond the Standard Model in tabletop experiments with the advent of future quantum technologies. In this work, we provide an entanglement-based partial positive transpose witness for Yukawa-type potentials in the infrared regime between pairs of neutral/charged particles in a spatial quantum superposition. The entanglement is created by the interaction beyond the Standard Model such as axionlike particle or physics motivated by string theory such as extra dimensions in the context of gravity. We will study the constrained couplings in a few different models along with the decoherence rate to show what parameters can be searched for in near-future entanglement-driven experiments for the search of new physics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Destructive Interference of Inertial Noise in Matter-wave Interferometry

Matter-wave interferometry is highly susceptible to inertial acceleration noises arising from the vibration of the experimental apparatus. There are various methods for noise suppression. In this paper, we propose leveraging the cross-correlation of multi-directional vibration noises to mitigate their dephasing effect in matter-wave interferometers. Specifically, we analyse an interferometer driven by its internal state under an external field and examine the dephasing caused by a two-dimensional random inertial force. As we will demonstrate, the coupling between the two-dimensional inertial force noise components will shift the resonance peak but not change the shape of the power spectral density. Moreover, when the noise approximately resonates with the intrinsic frequency of the test mass, we find that the standard deviation of the phase can be suppressed by a factor roughly equal to the Q-factor of the noise. This technique holds significant potential for future gravity experiments utilising quantum sensors, such as measuring gravitational acceleration and exploring quantum entanglement induced by gravity.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

A Spin-Based Pathway to Testing the Quantum Nature of Gravity

A key open problem in physics is the correct way to combine gravity (described by general relativity) with everything else (described by quantum mechanics). This problem suggests that general relativity and possibly also quantum mechanics need fundamental corrections. Most physicists expect that gravity should be quantum in character, but gravity is fundamentally different to the other forces because it alone is described by spacetime geometry. Experiments are needed to test whether gravity, and hence space-time, is quantum or classical. We propose an experiment to test the quantum nature of gravity by checking whether gravity can entangle two micron-sized crystals. A pathway to this is to create macroscopic quantum superpositions of each crystal first using embedded spins and Stern-Gerlach forces. These crystals could be nanodiamonds containing nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres. The spins can subsequently be measured to witness the gravitationally generated entanglement. This is based on extensive theoretical feasibility studies and experimental progress in quantum technology. The eventual experiment will require a medium-sized consortium with excellent suppression of decoherence including vibrations and gravitational noise. In this white paper, we review the progress and plans towards realizing this. While implementing these plans, we will further explore the most macroscopic superpositions that are possible, which will test theories that predict a limit to this.

quant-ph↗