arXiv subjects

Sebastian Ulbricht

Publications and source records attributed to Sebastian Ulbricht.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Entanglement of quantum systems via a classical mediator in hybrid van Hove theory

It is a matter of ongoing discussion whether quantum states can become entangled while only interacting via a classical mediator. This lively debate is deeply interwoven with the question of whether entanglement studies can prove the quantum nature of gravity. However, the answer to this fundamental question depends crucially on which hybrid quantum-classical theory is used. In this letter, we demonstrate that entanglement by a classical mediator is possible within the framework of hybrid van Hove theory, showing that existing no-go theorems on that matter do not universally apply to hybrid theories in general. After briefly recapitulating the key features of the hybrid van Hove theory, we show this using the example of two quantum spins coupled by a classical harmonic oscillator. By deriving the spin density matrix for this scenario and comparing it to its equivalent for a pure quantum system, we show that entanglement between the two spins is generated in both cases. Conclusively, this is illustrated by presenting the purity and concurrence of the spin-spin system as a decisive measure for entanglement. Our results further imply that quantum entanglement studies cannot rule out consistent quantum theories featuring classical gravity.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Analytical description of collisional decoherence in a BEC double-well accelerometer

BEC-based quantum sensors offer a huge, yet not fully explored potential in gravimetry and ac- celerometry. In this paper, we study a possible setup for such a device, which is a weakly interacting Bose gas trapped in a double-well potential. In such a trap, the gas is known to exhibit Josephson oscillations, which rely on the coherence between the potential wells. Applying the density matrix approach, we consider transitions between the coherent, partially incoherent, and fully incoherent states of the Bose gas. We provide an analytical description of the collisional decoherence due to weak interactions, causing the Josephson oscillations to decay with time. In particular, we give the mathematical link between that decay in the density matrix approach and its interpretation in terms of phase fluctuations. To investigate the potential of the double-well setup as a quantum sensor we apply additional external acceleration to the system. The interplay of collisional interaction and ac- celeration leads to an additional shift of the oscillation frequency. We give the analytical expression for this shift and estimate the sensitivity of a hypothetical BEC double-well accelerometer based on that effect.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2025

Classical and mixed classical-quantum systems from van Hove's unitary representation of contact transformations

Descriptions of classical mechanics in Hilbert space go back to the work of Koopman and von Neumann in the 1930s. Decades later, van Hove derived a unitary representation of the group of contact transformations which recently has been used to develop a novel formulation of classical mechanics in Hilbert space. This formulation differs from the Koopman-von Neumann theory in many ways. Classical observables are represented by van Hove operators, which satisfy a commutation algebra isomorphic to the Poisson algebra of functions in phase space. Moreover, these operators are both observables and generators of transformations, which makes it unnecessary to introduce unobservable auxiliary operators as in the Koopman-von Neumann theory. In addition, for consistency with classical mechanics, a constraint must be imposed that fixes the phase of the wavefunction. The approach can be extended to hybrid mixed classical-quantum systems in Hilbert space. The formalism is applied to the measurement of a quantum two-level system (qubit) by a classical apparatus.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Three statistical descriptions of classical systems and their extensions to hybrid quantum-classical systems

We present three statistical descriptions for systems of classical particles and consider their extension to hybrid quantum-classical systems. The classical descriptions are ensembles on configuration space, ensembles on phase space, and a Hilbert space approach using van Hove operators which provides an alternative to the Koopman-von Neumann formulation. In all cases, there is a natural way to define classical observables and a corresponding Lie algebra that is isomorphic to the usual Poisson algebra in phase space. We show that in the case of classical particles, the three descriptions are equivalent and indicate how they are related. We then modify and extend these descriptions to introduce hybrid models where a classical particle interacts with a quantum particle. The approach of ensembles on phase space and the Hilbert space approach, which are novel, lead to equivalent hybrid models, while they are not equivalent to the hybrid model of the approach of ensembles on configuration space. Thus, we end up identifying two inequivalent types of hybrid systems, making different predictions, especially when it comes to entanglement. These results are of interest regarding ``no-go'' theorems about quantum systems interacting via a classical mediator which address the issue of whether gravity must be quantized. Such theorems typically require assumptions that make them model dependent. The hybrid systems that we discuss provide concrete examples of inequivalent models that can be used to compute simple examples to test the assumptions of the ``no-go'' theorems and their applicability.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Einstein's basement - A kinematic sector complementing special relativity

We revisit the concept of particles as it is used in special relativity. The presented model treats the energy-momentum relation of relativistic particles as the upper branch of a generalized energy-momentum relation of quasi particles. These particles emerge from a forbidden crossing between the constant energy of a massive particle in rest and the linear energy momentum relation of a massless particle. The lower branch, a regime dubbed as Einstein's basement, gives rise to particles with different kinematics that is analyzed in the low-velocity limit. Allowing for gravitational interaction between those particles we find both attraction and repulsion, depending on their velocity with respect to an absolute space. This absolute frame is only relevant for Einstein's basement and does not affect the relativistic dynamics of regular matter as long as no coupling between the branches is considered, while weak coupling induces local Lorentz violations. We finally discuss whether our approach can be used to model phenomena of dark matter and dark energy.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

A gravitational metrological triangle

Motivated by the similarity of the mathematical structure of Einstein's General Relativity in its weak field limit and of Maxwell's theory of electrodynamics it is shown that there are gravitational analogues of the Josephson effect and the quantum Hall effect. These effects can be combined to derive a gravitational analogue of the quantum/electric metrological triangle. The gravitational metrological triangle may have applications in metrology and could be used to investigate the relation of the Planck constant to fundamental particle masses. This allows for quantum tests of the Weak Equivalence Principle. Moreover, the similarity of the gravitational and the quantum/electrical metrological triangle can be used to test the universality of quantum mechanics.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Generalized Josephson effect in an asymmetric double-well potential at finite temperatures

We investigate a non-interacting many-particle bosonic system, placed in an asymmetric double-well potential. We first consider the dynamics of a single particle and determine its time-dependent probabilities to be in the left or the right well of the potential. These probabilities obey the standard Josephson equations, which in their many-particle interpretation also describe a globally coherent system, such as a Bose-Einstein condensate. This system exhibits the widely studied Josephson oscillations of the population imbalance between the wells. In our study we go beyond the regime of global coherence by developing a formalism based on an effective density matrix. This formalism gives rise to a generalization of Josephson equations, which differ from the standard ones by an additional parameter, that has the meaning of the degree of fragmentation. We first consider the solution of the generalized Josephson equations in the particular case of thermal equilibrium at finite temperatures, and extend our discussion to the non-equilibrium regime afterwards. Our model leads to a constraint on the maximum amplitude of Josephson oscillations for a given temperature and the total number of particles. A detailed analysis of this constraint for typical experimental scenarios is given.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Using gravitational light deflection in optical cavities for laser frequency stabilization

We theoretically investigate the propagation of light in the presence of a homogeneous gravitational field. To model this, we derive the solutions of the wave equation in Rindler spacetime, which account for gravitational redshift and light deflection. The developed theoretical framework is used to explore the propagation of plane light waves in a horizontal Fabry-Perot cavity. We pay particular attention to the cavity output power. It is shown that this power depends not only on the input frequency, but also on the vertical position of a detector. We state that the height-dependent detector signal arising from the cavity internal light deflection effect (CILD-effect) also opens a new alternative way to frequency stabilization in Earth-based laser experiments and to study gravitational light deflection at laboratory scales.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Measurement of a quantum system with a classical apparatus using ensembles on configuration space

Finding a physically consistent approach to modelling interactions between classical and quantum systems is a highly nontrivial task. While many proposals based on various mathematical formalisms have been made, most of these efforts run into difficulties of one sort or another. One of the first detailed descriptions was given by Sudarshan and his collaborators who, motivated by the measurement problem in quantum mechanics, proposed a Hilbert space formulation of classical-quantum interactions which made use of the Koopman-von Neumann description of classical systems. Here we use the approach of ensembles on configurations space to give a detailed account of a classical apparatus measuring the position of a quantum particle that is prepared in a superposition of two localized states. We show that the probability of the pointer of the classical apparatus is left in a state that corresponds to the probability of the quantum particle. A subsequent observation of the pointer leads to an update of its probability density. From this we can obtain information about the position of the quantum particle, leading to an update of its wave function. Since this formalism incorporates uncertainties and finite measurement precision, it is well suited for metrological applications. Furthermore, it resolves fundamental issues that appear in the case of a quantum description of the apparatus.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Impact of Earth's gravity on Gaussian beam propagation in hemispherical cavities

We theoretically investigate the influence of gravity on laser light in a hemispherical optical cavity, operating on Earth. The propagation of light in such a cavity is modeled by a Gaussian beam, affected by the Earth's gravitational field. On laboratory scale, this field is described by the spacetime of homogeneous gravity, known as Rindler spacetime. In that spacetime, the beam is bent downwards and acquires a height dependent phase shift. As a consequence the phase fronts of the laser light differ from those of a usual Gaussian beam. Assuming that the initial beam enters the cavity along its symmetry axis, these gravitational effects cause variations of the beam phase with every cavity round trip. Detailed calculations are performed to investigate how these phase variations depend on the beam parameters and the cavity setup. Moreover, we discuss the implications of our findings for cavity calibration techniques and cavity-based laser stabilization procedures.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

Gravitational light deflection in Earth-based laser cavity experiments

As known from Einstein's theory of general relativity, the propagation of light in the presence of a massive object is affected by gravity. In this work, we discuss whether the effect of gravitational light bending can be observed in Earth-based experiments, using high-finesse optical cavities. In order to do this, we theoretically investigate the dynamics of electromagnetic waves in the spacetime of a homogeneous gravitational field and give an analytical expression for the resulting modifications to Gaussian beam propagation. This theoretical framework is used to calculate the intensity profile at the output of a Fabry-Pérot cavity and to estimate the imprints of Earth's gravity on the cavity output signal. In particular, we found that gravity causes an asymmetry of the output intensity profile. Based on that, we discuss a measurement scheme, that could be realized in facilities like the GEO600 gravitational wave detector and the AEI 10 m detector prototype.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Gravitational effects on geonium and free electron $\mathrm{g}_s$-factor measurements in a Penning trap

We present a theoretical analysis of an electron confined by a Penning trap, also known as geonium, that is affected by gravity. In particular, we investigate the gravitational influence on the electron dynamics and the electromagnetic field of the trap. We consider the special case of a homogeneous gravitational field, which is represented by Rindler spacetime. In this spacetime the Hamiltonian of an electron with anomalous magnetic moment is constructed. Based on this Hamiltonian and the exact solution to Maxwell equations for the field of a Penning trap in Rindler spacetime, we derived the transition energies of geonium up to the relativistic corrections of $1/\mathrm{c}^2$. These transition energies are used to obtain an extension of the well known $\mathrm{g}_s$-factor formula introduced by L. S. Brown and G. Gabrielse [Rev. Mod. Phys. 58, 233 1986].

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

A note on circular geodesics in the equatorial plane of an extreme Kerr-Newman black hole

We examine the behaviour of circular geodesics describing orbits of neutral test particles around an extreme Kerr-Newman black hole. It is well known that the radial Boyer-Lindquist coordinates of the prograde photon orbit $r=r_{\rm ph}$, marginally bound orbit $r=r_{\rm mb}$ and innermost stable orbit $r=r_{\rm ms}$ of the extreme Kerr black hole all coincide with the event horizon's value $r=r_+$. We find that for the extreme Kerr-Newman black hole with mass $M$, angular momentum $J$ and electric charge $Q=\pm\sqrt{M^2-J^2/M^2}$ ($|J|\le M^2$) the coordinate equalities $r_{\rm ph}=r_+$, $r_{\rm mb}=r_+$ and $r_{\rm ms}=r_+$ hold if and only if $|J|$ is greater than or equal to $M^2/2$, $M^2/\sqrt{3}$ and $M^2/\sqrt{2}$, respectively.

gr-qc↗