Testing quantum superpositions of the gravitational field with Bose-Einstein condensates

It has been argued by several authors that the space-time curvature observed in gravitational fields, and the same idea of forms of physical equivalence different from the Lorentz group, might emerge from the dynamical properties of the physical flat-space vacuum in a suitable hydrodynamic limit. To explore this idea, one could start by representing the physical vacuum as a Bose condensate of elementary quanta and look for vacuum excitations that, on a coarse grained scale, r...

For almost a century, the cosmological constant has been a mysterious object, in relation to both its origin and its very small value. By using a Bose-Einstein condensate analogue model for gravitational dynamics, we address here the cosmological constant issue from an analogue gravity standpoint. Starting from the fundamental equations describing a system of condensed bosons, we highlight the presence of a vacuum source term for the analogue gravitational field, playing the ...

We investigate a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) as a gravitational wave detector, and study its sensitivity by optimizing the properties of the condensate and the measurement duration. We show that detecting kilohertz gravitational waves is limited by current experimental techniques in squeezing BEC phonons. Future improvements in technology to squeeze BEC states can make them competitive detectors for gravitational waves of astrophysical and/or cosmological origin.

Taking the principles of quantum mechanics as they stand and applying them to gravity, leads to the conclusion that one might be able to generate superpositions of spacetimes, at least formally. We analyze such a possibility from an analogue gravity perspective. We present an analogue toy model consisting of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a double-well potential and identify the states that could potentially be interpreted as superposition of effective spacetimes. These states...

We propose a novel type of composite light-matter interferometer based on a supersolid-like phase of a driven Bose-Einstein condensate coupled to a pair of degenerate counterpropagating electromagnetic modes of an optical ring cavity. The supersolid-like condensate under the influence of the gravity drags the cavity optical potential with itself, thereby changing the relative phase of the two {cavity electromagnetic fields}. Monitoring the phase evolution of the cavity output...

A description of the dynamical response of uniformly trapped Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) to oscillating external gravitational fields is developed, with the inclusion of damping. Two different effects that can lead to the creation of phonons in the BEC are identified; direct driving and parametric driving. Additionally, the oscillating gravitational field couples phonon modes, which can lead to the transition of excitations between modes. The special case of the gravitat...

When a massive quantum body is put into a spatial superposition, it is of interest to consider the quantum aspects of the gravitational field sourced by the body. We argue that in order to understand how the body may become entangled with other massive bodies via gravitational interactions, it must be thought of as being entangled with its own Newtonian-like gravitational field. Thus, a Newtonian-like gravitational field must be capable of carrying quantum information. Our an...

In this diplom-arbeit I consider a specific class of "analogue models" of curved spacetime that are specifically based on the use of Bose-Einstein condensates. As is usual in "analogue models", we are primarily interested in the kinematics of fields and quanta immersed in a curved-space background. We are not directly concerned with the Einstein equations of general relativity. Over the last few years numerous papers concerning "analogue models" have been published, the key...

In this paper we propose to apply the analogy between gravity and condensed matter physics to relativistic Bose-Einstein condensates (RBECs), i.e. condensates composed by relativistic constituents. While such systems are not yet a subject of experimental realization, they do provide us with a very rich analogue model of gravity, characterized by several novel features with respect to their non-relativistic counterpart. Relativistic condensates exhibit two (rather than one) qu...

We explore the effect of mutual gravitational interaction between ultra-cold gas atoms on the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC). Small amplitude oscillation of BEC is studied by applying variational technique to reduce the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, with gravity included, to the equation of motion of a particle moving in a potential. According to our analysis, if the s-wave scattering length can be tuned to zero using Feshbach resonance for future BEC with occupatio...