Litcius/Paper detail

Generation of Entanglement from Mechanical Rotation

Marko Toroš, Marion Cromb, Mauro Paternostro, Daniele Faccio

2022Physical Review Letters23 citationsDOIOpen Access PDF

Abstract

Many phenomena and fundamental predictions, ranging from Hawking radiation to the early evolution of the Universe rely on the interplay between quantum mechanics and gravity or more generally, quantum mechanics in curved spacetimes. However, our understanding is hindered by the lack of experiments that actually allow us to probe quantum mechanics in curved spacetime in a repeatable and accessible way. Here we propose an experimental scheme for a photon that is prepared in a path superposition state across two rotating Sagnac interferometers that have different diameters and thus represent a superposition of two different spacetimes. We predict the generation of genuine entanglement even at low rotation frequencies and show how these effects could be observed even due to the Earth's rotation. These predictions provide an accessible platform in which to study the role of the underlying spacetime in the generation of entanglement.

Topics & Concepts

PhysicsQuantum entanglementSuperposition principleSpacetimeClassical mechanicsRotation (mathematics)Quantum mechanicsQuantumTheoretical physicsGeometryMathematicsMechanical and Optical ResonatorsGeophysics and Sensor TechnologyQuantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect