Quantum gravitational contrast in creating Schrödinger cat state
In this paper, we illustrate how a Schrödinger cat state created via a matter-wave interferometer can be viewed as the simplest quantum-gravity setup where we can treat both matter and gravity on an equal footing at a perturbative level. Here we treat Einstein's theory of general relativity using an effective field theory approach, quantising the massless spin-2 graviton in the presence of a quantum spatial superposition of matter that creates a matter-wave interferometer in the non-relativistic limit. We show that due to the matter-graviton coupling the graviton vacuum is displaced analogous to the coherent state. We study the contrast/overlap between the coherent states of the left and right superpositions in the matter-wave interferometer. We also study the entanglement between matter and the graviton in this setup and relate it to a gravitational contrast, or the overlap of the quantum geometries led by the coherent states. In the appendix, we provide an example of a time-dependent harmonic oscillator and study the contrast/overlap of such coherent states of the graviton.
Authors
- Anupam Mazumdar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0967-8964)
- Tian Zhou
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
- Published
- 2026-10-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/dkq1-kbs5
- Primary Topic
- Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- China Scholarship Council