arXiv subjects

Yanbei Chen

Publications and source records attributed to Yanbei Chen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2025

Evolving extreme mass-ratio inspirals in a perturbed Schwarzschild spacetime

In this work, we develop the modified Teukolsky formalism that describes the GW radiation from a point mass orbiting around a perturbed Schwarzschild BH. This perturbation of the background spacetime induces a secular change in the orbital phase of the point mass. In turn, this causes a modification in the GW flux, which can be used to probe the background spacetime. We explicitly apply this formalism to a bumpy Schwarzschild spacetime as a proof of principle. The results pave the way for the description of EMRIs in generic perturbed Kerr spacetime in future developments.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

The ringdown of a black hole surrounded by a thin shell of matter

Recent studies have shown that far-field perturbations to the curvature potential of a black hole spacetime may destabilize its quasinormal mode (QNM) spectrum while only mildly affecting time-domain ringdown signals. In this work, we study the QNM spectrum and ringdown behavior of a Schwarzschild black hole with a far-field perturbation to its physical environment -- a thin matter shell with finite surface tension. After accounting for the dynamics of the interaction between GWs and the shell, we find that the fundamental mode can migrate perturbatively or be destabilized by the appearance of new modes with no analogue in the vacuum case, much like studies of ``bumps" in the curvature potential. However, unlike these previous works, we find that the coupling between metric perturbations and oscillations of the shell also sources weakly-damped QNMs which are exclusive to the polar sector. We then study whether the analysis tools of least-squares QNM fits and the full and rational ringdown filters can clearly identify the signatures of the shell in representative ringdown waveforms. We conclude that ringdown at sufficiently early times is insensitive to the shell; weakly-damped QNMs (in the polar sector) and echoes, which may enable the analysis methods considered here to infer the presence of a shell, only appear at late times and are generally weak.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Simultaneous Speedmeter and Position-Meter Response in a Single Tabletop Interferometer

Quantum radiation-pressure noise (QRPN) limits the low-frequency sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors. The established method for suppressing QRPN is the injection of frequency-dependent squeezed light. It requires long-baseline filter cavities introducing substantial experimental complexity. A completely different interferometer concept is the speedmeter. It avoids QRPN at the source by measuring test mass speed instead of position. While extensively researched theoretically, speedmeters are yet to be demonstrated with a moving test mass in an optomechanical setting. In this work, we present the first experimental observation of speedmeter behavior in a system with a movable test mass. We realize a novel hybrid readout cavity configuration that enables simultaneous extraction of position and speed signals from two distinct output ports. We compare the optical transfer functions associated with each channel and observe the expected scaling behavior that distinguishes a speedmeter from a position-meter. We support our observations with a detailed theoretical model, showing how the hybrid readout cavity implements key speedmeter features. Our results underscore the relevance of the speedmeter concept as an alternative for mitigating QRPN in future detectors and lay the groundwork for further experimental exploration.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Probing Direct Waves in Black Hole Ringdowns

Merger gravitational waves from binary black hole coalescence carry rich information about the underlying spacetime dynamics. We analyze merger waves from comparable-mass and extreme-mass-ratio binaries, obtained from numerical relativity and black-hole perturbation theory, respectively, and argue that they are dominated by the prompt wave emissions as the black holes collide. This signal, which we refer to as the direct wave, is modulated by the plunging motion and selectively screened by the gravitational potential of the remnant black hole. The direct wave typically exhibits a time-dependent frequency and decay rate, but for high-spin remnants $(\gtrsim0.7)$ the ergosphere renders it mode-like, with a quasi-stable instantaneous oscillation frequency close to the superradiant frequency. We further estimate its detectability in a GW150914-like system and find that the signal-to-noise ratio can exceed $\sim 10$ with the current ground-based detector network. Our results therefore identify the direct wave as a robust observable for analyzing black hole ringdowns in current and future gravitational wave events.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Characterizing stationary optomechanical entanglement in the presence of non-Markovian noise

We study an optomechanical system, where a mechanical oscillator interacts with a Gaussian input optical field. In the linearized picture, we analytically prove that if the input light field is the vacuum state, or is frequency-independently squeezed, the stationary entanglement between the oscillator and the output optical field is independent of the coherent coupling between them, which we refer to as the universality of entanglement. Furthermore, we demonstrate that entanglement cannot be generated by performing arbitrary frequency-dependent squeezing on the input optical field. Our results hold in the presence of general, Gaussian environmental noise sources, including non-Markovian noise.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Universality of stationary entanglement in an optomechanical system driven by non-Markovian noise and squeezed light

Optomechanical systems subjected to environmental noise give rise to rich physical phenomena. We investigate entanglement between a mechanical oscillator and the reflected coherent optical field in a general, not necessarily Markovian environment. For the input optical field, we consider stationary Gaussian states and frequency dependent squeezing. We demonstrate that for a coherent laser drive, either unsqueezed or squeezed in a frequency-independent manner, optomechanical entanglement is destroyed after a threshold that depends only on the environmental noises -- independent of the coherent coupling between the oscillator and the optical field, or the squeeze factor. In this way, we have found a universal entangling-disentangling transition. We also show that for a configuration in which the oscillator and the reflected field are separable, entanglement cannot be generated by incorporating frequency-dependent squeezing in the optical field.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Bayesian frequency estimation at the fundamental quantum limit

Searching for a weak signal at an unknown frequency is a canonical task in experiments probing fundamental physics such as gravitational-wave observatories and ultra-light dark matter haloscopes. These state-of-the-art sensors are limited by quantum noise arising from the fundamental uncertainty about the state of the device. Classically, frequency estimation suffers from a threshold effect in the signal-to-noise ratio such that weak signals are extremely hard to localise in frequency. We show that this phenomenon persists at the fundamental quantum limit but that the classical approach, a quadrature measurement, can nevertheless be beaten by a coherent protocol of projecting onto the "quantum whitened" possible quantum states. Quantum whitening is a covariant measurement, and we examine it analytically in the wide-prior limit and numerically for finite-width priors. Beyond accelerating searches for unknown frequencies, quantum whitening may be used generally to sense the parameter of a unitary encoding given no prior information about the parameter.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Testing the quantum nature of gravity through interferometry

We propose a Michelson-type interferometric protocol for testing the quantum nature of gravity through testing the phenomenology of semi-classical gravity theory, which predicts a state-dependent Schrodinger-Newton (SN) evolution of the test mass. The protocol's feature lies in utilizing the asymmetry of two interferometric arms induced by SN self-gravity to create cross-talk between the common and differential motion of the test masses. This cross-talk is imprinted as a clean binary signature in the correlation measurements of the interferometer's output light fields. Our results demonstrate that, when assisted by 10 dB squeezed input states, 3 hours of aggregated measurement data can provide sufficient signal-to-noise ratio to conclusively test the SN theory in 1 Kelvin environment. This shows the strong feasibility of using such interferometric protocols to test if gravity operates quantum-mechanically.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Quantum Back Action Evasion with Reservoir Engineering

We propose a back-action evading scheme for a free mass that combines reservoir engineering with velocity measurement. The underlying principle follows the double-pass-type speed meter, which measures the mirror's velocity using a nonreciprocal interaction. In our method, the nonreciprocal coupling is realized through reservoir engineering, following the recipe proposed in [Phys. Rev. X 5, 021025]. We show that reservoir engineering can reproduce the double-pass speed meter with optimal feedforward, using only reciprocal interactions. The resulting force sensitivity surpasses the standard quantum limit, providing an alternative route to quantum back-action evasion in cavity optomechanical systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Teleportation-based Speed Meter for Precision Measurement

We propose a quantum teleportation-based speed meter for interferometric displacement sensing. Two equivalent implementations are presented: an online approach that uses real-time displacement operation and an offline approach that relies on post-processing. Both implementations reduce quantum radiation pressure noise and surpass the standard quantum limit of measuring displacement. We discuss potential applications to gravitational-wave detectors, where our scheme enhances low-frequency sensitivity without requiring modifications to the core optics of a conventional Michelson interferometer (e.g., substrate or coating properties). This approach offers a new path to back-action evasion enabled by quantum entanglement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Perturbations of spinning black holes in dynamical Chern-Simons gravity: Slow rotation quasinormal modes

Gravitational waves offer new ways to test general relativity (GR) in the strong-field regime, including tests involving the ringdown phase of binary black hole mergers, characterized by oscillating and quickly decaying quasinormal modes (QNMs). Recent advances have extended QNM calculations to several theories beyond GR through the development of the modified Teukolsky formalism, including higher derivative gravity and dynamical Chern-Simons (dCS) gravity. Using the modified Teukolsky formalism, we previously derived radial second-order differential equations governing curvature and scalar field perturbations in dCS gravity at leading order in spin. In this work, we compute the QNM frequency shifts for slowly rotating black holes in dCS gravity from these modified Teukolsky equations, and (1) show that the radial equations for Weyl scalars $Ψ_{0,4}$ can be separated into even- and odd-parity parts, confirming that the scalar field couples only to the odd-parity sector; (2) extend the eigenvalue perturbation method to coupled fields; (3) compute the QNM spectrum, obtaining consistent results across independent calculations using different radiation gauges; (4) calculate the overtones in the QNM spectra for the first time in dCS gravity; (5) show that our findings align with previous metric perturbation studies and mark the first QNM spectrum calculation in a non-minimally coupled scalar-tensor theory via the modified Teukolsky formalism. This work lays the foundation for studying fast-rotating black holes in dCS gravity, advancing black hole spectroscopy in beyond-GR contexts.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

The Role of Quantum Measurements when Testing the Quantum Nature of Gravity

In order to test the quantum nature of gravity, it is essential to explore the construction of classical gravity theories that are as consistent with experiments as possible. In particular, the classical gravity field must receive input regarding matter distribution. Previously, such input has been constructed by taking expectation values of the matter density operator or by using the outcomes of all measurements being performed on the quantum system. We propose a framework that unifies these models, and argue that the Causal Conditional Formulation of Schroedinger-Newton (CCSN) theory, which takes classical inputs only from experimental and environmental channels, is a minimum model within this framework. Since CCSN can be viewed as a quantum feedback control scheme, it can be made causal and free from pathologies that previously plagued SN theories. Since classical information from measurement results are used to generate classical gravity, CCSN can mimic quantum gravity better than one would naively expect for a classical theory. We predict experimental signatures of CCSN in two concrete scenarios: (i) a single test mass and (ii) two objects interacting via mutual gravity. In case (i), we show that the mass-concentration effect of self classical gravity still makes CCSN much easier to test than testing the mutual entanglement, yet the signatures are more subtle than previously thought for classical gravity theories. Using time-delayed and non-stationary measurements, which delay or suspend the flow of classical information into classical gravity, one can make CCSN more detectable. In case (ii), we show that mutual gravity generated by CCSN can lead to correlations that largely mimic signatures of quantum entanglement. Rigorous protocols that rule out LOCC channels, which are experimentally more challenging than simply testing entanglement, must be applied to completely rule out CCSN.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Lindblad estimation with fast and precise quantum control

Enhancing precision sensors for stochastic signals using quantum techniques is a promising emerging field of physics. Estimating a weak stochastic waveform is the core task of many fundamental physics experiments including searches for stochastic gravitational waves, quantum gravity, and axionic dark matter. Simultaneously, noise spectroscopy and characterisation, e.g. estimation of various decay mechanisms in quantum devices, is relevant to a broad range of fundamental and technological applications. We consider the ultimate limit on the sensitivity of these devices for Lindblad estimation given any quantum state, fast and precise control sequence, and measurement scheme. We show that it is optimal to rapidly projectively measure and re-initialise the quantum state. We develop optimal protocols for a wide range of applications including stochastic waveform estimation, spectroscopy with qubits, and Lindblad estimation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

The curvature dependence of gravitational-wave tests of General Relativity

High-energy extensions to General Relativity modify the Einstein-Hilbert action with higher-order curvature corrections and theory-specific coupling constants. The order of these corrections imprints a universal curvature dependence on observations while the coupling constant controls the deviation strength. In this Letter, we leverage the theory-independent expectation that modifications to the action of a given order in spacetime curvature (Riemann tensor and contractions) lead to observational deviations that scale with the system length-scale to a corresponding power. Focusing on gravitational wave observations, the relevant scale is the binary total mass, and deviations scale as a power of mass $p$ related to the action order. For example, $p=4,6$ arise in effective field theory for cubic and quartic theories respectively. We incorporate this universal scaling into theory-agnostic tests of General Relativity with current gravitational-wave observations, thus enabling constraints on the curvature scaling without compromising the agnostic nature of these tests. This introduces a flexible yet highly interpretable new paradigm for tests of General Relativity with gravitational-wave catalogs.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Semiclassical gravity phenomenology under the causal-conditional quantum measurement prescription II: Heisenberg picture and apparent optical entanglement

The evolution of quantum states influenced by semiclassical gravity is distinct from that in quantum gravity theory due to the presence of a state-dependent gravitational potential. This state-dependent potential introduces nonlinearity into the state evolution, of which the theory is named Schroedinger-Newton (SN) theory. The formalism for understanding the continuous quantum measurement process on the quantum state in the context of semiclassical gravity theory has been previously discussed using the Schrödinger picture in Paper I [1]. In this work, an equivalent formalism using the Heisenberg picture is developed and applied to the analysis of two optomechanical experiment protocols that targeted testing the quantum nature of gravity. This Heisenberg picture formalism of the SN theory has the advantage of helping the investigation of the covariance matrices of the outgoing light fields in these protocols and further the entanglement features. We found that the classical gravity between the quantum trajectories of two mirrors under continuous quantum measurement in the SN theory can induce an apparent entanglement of the outgoing light field (though there is no quantum entanglement of the mirrors), which could serve as a false alarm for those experiments designed for probing the quantum gravity induced entanglement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Squeezing the quantum noise of a gravitational-wave detector below the standard quantum limit

Precision measurements of space and time, like those made by the detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), are often confronted with fundamental limitations imposed by quantum mechanics. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle dictates that the position and momentum of an object cannot both be precisely measured, giving rise to an apparent limitation called the Standard Quantum Limit (SQL). Reducing quantum noise below the SQL in gravitational-wave detectors, where photons are used to continuously measure the positions of freely falling mirrors, has been an active area of research for decades. Here we show how the LIGO A+ upgrade reduced the detectors' quantum noise below the SQL by up to 3 dB while achieving a broadband sensitivity improvement, more than two decades after this possibility was first presented.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Decoherence by warm horizons

Recently Danielson, Satishchandran, and Wald (DSW) have shown that quantum superpositions held outside of Killing horizons will decohere at a steady rate. This occurs because of the inevitable radiation of soft photons (gravitons), which imprint a electromagnetic (gravitational) ``which-path'' memory onto the horizon. Rather than appealing to this global description, an experimenter ought to also have a local description for the cause of decoherence. One might intuitively guess that this is just the bombardment of Hawking/Unruh radiation on the system, however simple calculations challenge this idea -- the same superposition held in a finite temperature inertial laboratory does not decohere at the DSW rate. In this work we provide a local description of the decoherence by mapping the DSW set-up onto a worldline-localized model resembling an Unruh-DeWitt particle detector. We present an interpretation in terms of random local forces which do not sufficiently self-average over long times. Using the Rindler horizon as a concrete example we clarify the crucial role of temperature, and show that the Unruh effect is the only quantum mechanical effect underlying these random forces. A general lesson is that for an environment which induces Ohmic friction on the central system (as one gets from the classical Abraham-Lorentz-Dirac force, in an accelerating frame) the fluctuation-dissipation theorem implies that when this environment is at finite temperature it will cause steady decoherence on the central system. Our results agree with DSW and provide the complementary local perspective.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Tolerance to Astrophysical Model Uncertainty in Dark Siren Hubble Measurement with Third-generation Gravitational-wave Detectors

Gravitational-wave (GW) events can serve as standard sirens for cosmology, as the luminosity distance to source can be directly measured from the waveform amplitude. Specifically, the ``dark'' siren method involves inferring cosmological parameters, e.g. the Hubble constant, by comparing the luminosity distance distribution and that of the redshift, typically obtained through a combination of galaxy survey catalog and theoretical models. Especially with the prospect of third-generation GW detectors, the statistical uncertainty of the Hubble measurement can be suppressed to a percent level. However, incorrect assumption in galaxy population models can lead to systematic bias, which becomes increasingly relevant as third-generation GW detectors can detect large-redshift sources beyond the reach of currently available galaxy catalogs. In this work, we adopt a Fisher information formalism and study the maximum model error tolerance given specific total error budget. We find that, to achieve a total error budget of 1% in the Hubble constant, the galaxy mass function redshift evolution should be known to O(1%). We find that galaxy redshift uncertainty, survey magnitude limit and GW angular localization error are important factors. We find galaxy clustering also improves model error tolerance, thus our results provide a conservative benchmark to future analysis using real galaxy catalogs. We also investigate the effective bright siren scenario and highlight that the dark siren selection strategy should be catered to measurement uncertainty and the target total error budget. This work thus highlights the challenge in the dark siren method and quantifies requirements on both the galaxy catalog and GW measurement to contribute to constraining cosmology.

gr-qc↗