arXiv subjects

Kacper Dębski

Publications and source records attributed to Kacper Dębski.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

The relativistic reason for quantum probability amplitudes

We show that the quantum-mechanical probability distribution involving complex probability amplitudes can be derived from three natural conditions imposed on a relativistically invariant probability function describing the motion of a particle that can take multiple paths simultaneously. The conditions are: (i) pairwise Kolmogorov additivity, (ii) time symmetry, and (iii) Bayes' rule. The resulting solution, parameterized by a single constant, is the squared modulus of a sum of complex exponentials of the relativistic action, thereby recovering the Feynman path-integral formulation of quantum mechanics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Operator Ordering in the Relativistic Quantization: Specific Heat in the Rindler Frame

We introduce a covariant canonical quantization for a particle in curved spacetime that tracks operator-ordering ambiguities. Parameterizing spatial and temporal ordering, we derive a Hermitian Hamiltonian with leading quantum-relativistic corrections. In a uniformly accelerated frame, we show the semiclassical heat-capacity approximation misses these effects and then develop a perturbative quantum treatment using Airy-function modes to obtain analytical first- and second-order energy shifts. Including these shifts in the partition function yields nontrivial, ordering-dependent specific-heat corrections. Numerical studies for electrons in extreme electric fields and ultra-light particles in strong gravitational fields demonstrate that these corrections become significant at intermediate temperatures. Enforcing the Tolman-Ehrenfest relation for spatial temperature variation further modulates the heat-capacity profile. Our results suggest that precision calorimetry in laser-acceleration or analogue gravity setups could probe quantum-ordering effects in relativistic regimes.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Covariant quantum field theory of tachyons

Three major misconceptions concerning quantized tachyon fields: the energy spectrum unbounded from below, the frame-dependent and unstable vacuum state, and the non-covariant commutation rules, are shown to be a result of misrepresenting the Lorentz group in a too small Hilbert space. By doubling this space we establish an explicitly covariant framework that allows for the proper quantization of the tachyon fields eliminating all of these issues. Our scheme that is derived to maintain the relativistic covariance also singles out the two-state formalism developed by Aharonov et al. [1] as a preferred interpretation of the quantum theory.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Quantum time dilation in a gravitational field

According to relativity, the reading of an ideal clock is interpreted as the elapsed proper time along its classical trajectory through spacetime. In contrast, quantum theory allows the association of many simultaneous trajectories with a single quantum clock, each weighted appropriately. Here, we investigate how the superposition principle affects the gravitational time dilation observed by a simple clock - a decaying two-level atom. Placing such an atom in a superposition of positions enables us to analyze a quantum contribution to a classical time dilation manifest in spontaneous emission. In particular, we show that the emission rate of an atom prepared in a coherent superposition of separated wave packets in a gravitational field is different from the emission rate of an atom in a classical mixture of these packets, which gives rise to a quantum gravitational time dilation effect. We demonstrate that this nonclassical effect also manifests in a fractional frequency shift of the internal energy of the atom that is within the resolution of current atomic clocks. In addition, we show the effect of spatial coherence on the atom's emission spectrum.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Relativity of superluminal observers in $1+3$ spacetime

We develop an extension of special relativity in $1+3$ dimensional spacetime to account for superluminal inertial observers and show that such an extension rules out the conventional dynamics of mechanical point-like particles and forces one to use a field-theoretic framework. Therefore we show that field theory can be viewed as a direct consequence of extended special relativity.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2022

Universality of quantum time dilation

Time dilation is a difference in measured time between two clocks that either move with different velocities or experience different gravitational potentials. Both of these effects stem from the theory of relativity and are usually associated with classically defined trajectories, characterized by position, momentum, and acceleration. However, when spatial degrees of freedom are treated in a quantum way and a clock is allowed to be in a coherent superposition of either two momenta or two heights, additional quantum corrections to classical time dilation appear, called kinematic and gravitational quantum time dilations, respectively. We show that similarly to its classical counterpart, kinematic quantum time dilation is universal for any clock mechanism, while gravitational quantum time dilation is not. We also show that although both of these effects reduce to incoherent averaging of different classical time dilation contributions, there exists an additional quantum time dilation effect that has no classical analog and can be extracted from higher-order corrections to the system's Hamiltonian.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Indefinite temporal order without gravity

According to the general theory of relativity, time can flow at different rates depending on the configuration of massive objects, affecting the temporal order of events. Recent research has shown that, combined with quantum theory, this gravitational effect can result in events with an indefinite temporal order, which can be tested through the violation of Bell-type inequalities. According to Einstein, we shall assume physical equivalence of a uniform gravitational field and a corresponding acceleration of a reference system. Here we construct a non-gravitational scenario where accelerating particles interacting with optical cavities result in a violation of the temporal Bell inequalities analogous to the gravitational case. However, we find that the inequalities can also be violated by time-like events, exposing an ambiguity in their use as a theory-independent test of indefinite temporal order.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Effect of relativistic acceleration on tripartite entanglement in Gaussian states

Efficiencies of quantum information protocols can be affected by the noninertial motion of involved parties, e.g., in a gravitational field. Most of the previous studies focused on the effects of such a motion on a bipartite entanglement as a resource. We show how a tripartite Gaussian resource state of continuous variables is affected by the acceleration of the observers. Specifically, we analyze how genuine tripartite entanglement degrades due to the motion for various initial states and trajectories of the involved parties.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Quantum time dilation in atomic spectra

Quantum time dilation occurs when a clock moves in a superposition of relativistic momentum wave packets. We utilize the lifetime of an excited hydrogen-like atom as a clock to demonstrate how quantum time dilation manifests in a spontaneous emission process. The resulting emission rate differs when compared to the emission rate of an atom prepared in a mixture of momentum wave packets at order $v^2/c^2$. This effect is accompanied by a quantum correction to the Doppler shift due to the coherence between momentum wave packets. This quantum Doppler shift affects the spectral line shape at order $v/c$. However, its effect on the decay rate is suppressed when compared to the effect of quantum time dilation. We argue that spectroscopic experiments offer a technologically feasible platform to explore the effects of quantum time dilation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Casimir effect in conformally flat spacetimes

We discuss several approaches to determine the Casimir force in inertial frames of reference in different dimensions. On an example of a simple model involving mirrors in Rindler spacetime we show that Casimir's and Lifschitz's methods are inequivalent and only latter can be generalized to other spacetime geometries. For conformally coupled fields we derive the Casimir force in conformally flat spacetimes utilizing an anomaly and provide explicit examples in the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker $(k=0)$ models.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Measuring the Casimir-Polder potential with Unruh-DeWitt detector excitations

We propose a new method to measure Casimir-Polder force in an optical cavity by means of atomic excitations. We utilize a framework in which Unruh-DeWitt Hamiltonian mimics the full matter-field interaction and find a connection between the excitation rate of the two-level atom and the Casimir-Polder energy, allowing to map one onto the other. We argue that such a realization opens a route to study Casimir-Polder potentials through measurement of excited state's population in large, spatially compact ensembles of atoms.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Multimode theory of Gaussian states in uniformly accelerated frames

We use the formalism of noisy Gaussian channels to derive explicit transformation laws describing how an arbitrary multimode Gaussian state of a scalar quantum field is perceived by a number of accelerating observers, each having access to at least one of the modes. Our work, which generalizes earlier results of Ahmadi, et al., Phys. Rev. D 93, 124031 (2016), is the next step torwards a better understanding of the effect of gravity on the states of quantum fields.

quant-ph↗