One clock with two times: When quantum mechanics meets general relativity

Image via Wikipedia

October 19, 2011

According to general relativity, time flows differently at different positions due to the distortion of space-time by a nearby massive object. A single clock being in a superposition of two locations allows probing quantum interference effects in combination with general relativity. Credit: Quantum Optics, Quantum Nanophysics, Quantum Information; University of Vienna.

The unification of quantum mechanics and Einstein's general relativity is one of the most exciting and still open questions in modern physics. General relativity, the joint theory of gravity, space and time gives predictions that become clearly evident on a cosmic scale of stars and galaxies. Quantum effects, on the other hand, are fragile and are typically observed on small scales, e.g. when considering single particles and atoms. That is why it is very hard to test the interplay between quantum mechanics and general relativity. Now theoretical physicists led by Prof. Caslav Brukner at the University of Vienna propose a novel experiment which can probe the overlap of the two theories. The focus of the work is to measure the general relativistic notion of time on a quantum scale. The findings will be published this week in Nature Communications.

One of the counterintuitive predictions of Einstein's general relativity is that gravity distorts the flow of time. The theory predicts that clocks tick slower near a massive body and tick faster the further they are away from the mass. This effect results in a so-called "twin paradox": if one twin moves out to live at a higher altitude, he will age faster than the other twin who remains on the ground. This effect has been precisely verified in classical experiments, but not in conjunction with quantum effects, which is the aim of the newly proposed experiment.

The Viennese group of researchers wants to exploit the extraordinary possibility that a single quantum particle can lose the classical property of having a well-defined position, or as phrased in quantum mechanical terms: it can be in a "superposition". This allows for wave-like effects, called interference, with a single particle. However, if the position of the particle is measured, or even if it can in principle be known, this effect is lost. In other words, it is not possible to observe interference and simultaneously know the position of the particle. Such a connection between information and interference is an example of quantum complementarity - a principle proposed by Niels Bohr. The experimental proposal now published in Nature Communications combines this principle with the "twin paradox" of general relativity.

The team at the University of Vienna considers a single clock (any particle with evolving internal degrees of freedom such as spin) which is brought in a superposition of two locations – one closer and one further away from the surface of the Earth. According to general relativity, the clock ticks at different rates in the two locations, in the same way as the two twins would age differently. But since the time measured by the clock reveals the information on where the clock was located, the interference and the wave-nature of the clock is lost. "It is the twin paradox for a quantum 'only child', and it requires general relativity as well as quantum mechanics. Such an interplay between the two theories has never been probed in experiments yet" – says Magdalena Zych, the lead author of the paper and member of the Vienna Doctoral Program CoQuS. It is therefore the first proposal for an experiment that allows testing the genuine general relativistic notion of time in conjunction with quantum complementarity.

More information: "Quantum interferometric visibility as a witness of general relativistic proper time". M. Zych, F. Costa, I. Pikovski und C. Brukner. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1498

Provided by University of Vienna (news : web)

Related articles

• One clock with two times: When quantum mechanics meets general relativity (physorg.com)
• Does Time Really Exist? (disclose.tv)
• Edge challenges leading thinkers to name their 'favourite explanations' - Alok Jha - The Guardian (richarddawkins.net)
• Physicists propose test for loop quantum gravity (physorg.com)

General Relativity original Paper

Einstein's Theory Paper

Related articles

• Einstein's general relativity theory proved again in galaxy clusters - Xinhua (news.google.com)
• How you depend on relativity every day, without knowing it [Physics] (io9.com)
• Edge challenges leading thinkers to name their 'favourite explanations' - Alok Jha - The Guardian (richarddawkins.net)
• One clock with two times: When quantum mechanics meets general relativity (physorg.com)
• Galaxies say Einstein's Theory of Relativity is Cosmologically True (newyork.ibtimes.com)
• Challenging Einstein is usually a losing venture - Houston Chronicle (news.google.com)
• 'Special Relativity' may clear Faster-Than-Light Neutrino's Mystery (newyork.ibtimes.com)
• If true, discovery of particle traveling faster than speed of light would undercut Einstein's theories (nj.com)
• Breaking the Speed of Light and Contemplating the Demise of Relativity (bigthink.com)
• Einstein and Reality (yspr.wordpress.com)

Observations on light and gravity fields

Image via Wikipedia

It is widely acceptable that anything that keeps its state of speed, direction, energy level and mass as constants inside a time window, that is unaffected by any external fields or it is in a state of equilibrium in the direction and force of all the fields in that time window. I would talk about the locality of time later.

While we require large particle accelerators for obtaining near speed of light travel for any mass containing particle, we observe that the non mass particles such as the photons, gain the speed of light in no time after being released from atom electrons. The photons are also able to stick inside a compatible electron for a limited amount of  time. (Atom-Light Interactions ,  Lecture 20: Weak Photons and Strong Glue)

This brings to mind that a ubiquitous force exists and is applied to the photons always. Its result is visible as soon as a non mass containing photon is released from an atom. The photon is forced to the state of travelling at the speed of light as we observe. This field force acts upon the photons always. It must be as it is acting on the non mass containing particles of the universe. So this field force is making the photons enter the equilibrium state of the travelling with the speed we observe and as we call the speed of light.

Image by Shreyans Bhansali via Flickr

In lasers, photons enter into atoms, stick on to an electron, forcing it to spin on a more distant orbit from the nucleus. This state does not last long. So, photons are released again back to the wild and the electrons fall back to a closer distance orbit from the nucleus of the atom. We could understand that the photon contains energy equal with the energy lost from the spinning electron when falls from a distant orbit to a closer orbit from the nucleus. This also applies to the sum of the energy all the atom electrons lost and the sum of the photons energy released from an atom.

Should this photon forcing energy field exists, it should be applicable to all photons,  no matter if they are engaged within electrons of atoms, or they are free in the universe. Let's call it anti-G.

Electrons must have a certain capacity and quality of photon containers. It must be this way because not all photons carry the same energy, and atoms are more  receptive to certain qualities of photons than others.

The effect of this force field (lets call it anti-G) are observed on the electrons which when they receive an extra photon they jump to a higher orbit radius away from the nucleus of the atom.  This must be the effect of the anti-G force affecting the engaged photon.

But there must be another force field which has an effect on combining the photons with their receptor electrons and it must be strong enough to have them combined for a certain amount of time. Let's call that as combi-F. This force field must be responsible for connecting the non mass containing photons with the little mass containing electrons.

Even with the combi-F field keeping light photons and electrons together, the anti-G forc

Image via Wikipedia

e field is still acting upon the photons and is forcing them to move fast. So, the combination of the two fields could be the root of explaining why electrons are orbiting so fast around the nucleus and why they are not driven towards the opposite charged nucleus of the atoms. The reason could be explained by setting a set of photons inside each electron and accepting that each electron has a certain photon capacity and quality specifications for compatible photons to carry within itself.

So, when the photons are forced to travel on the equilibrium level of the speed of light while free from any combination, then while photons are combined with electrons, the same force field anti-G could combine with the combi-F force field and force the electrons travelling with near speed of light, kept by the electromagnetic attraction of the opposite charged nucleus of the atom, but not able to fall into the nucleus due to a certain filled photon capacity inside them.

Of course the electrons are mass containing objects and so the speed of light is not achievable by them. We have also to accept that the speed of light is an equilibrium state of all photons.

By calling this speed of light as equilibrium state, we do not declare it as maximum or minimum but as a limit of a travel speed functional limit of the anti-G force field in the long term, no matter if this long term could take up to microseconds to achieve it.

This anti-G force field could be part of the so called dark energy, which here is oxymoron to call the energy field that is affecting only the light as dark energy.

 The electrons must have enough capacity to collect photons, and the effect of the combi-F could be observable for a period of time.

The laser effects give us another observation: while some photons stick to some electrons and make them move up the orbital energy spheres, other photons pass without effect, other stay combined for various amounts of time and then they become free again. This may lead to the understanding of various electrons could have various capacities for various energy level photons. Maybe the electrons themselves have capacity spheres in different energy levels for each quality of photon in a similar structure of the atom itself with its orbital capacity of electrons and their spins.

Here, in the capacity of photons of the electrons we may be able to identify and possibly calculate the combi-F energy force field. And through that calculation we may then be able to calculate the anti-G force field, using the photon qualities and attributes and seeing its effects on the photon electro combination.

So, the so called antigravity could be the anti-G force field, that so many look for it on the mass contained fields, but itself is strong only on the non mass containing particles such as photons.

In case we observe long distance travelled photons from their source being dimmed more than it is expected and calculated by the distance, we  may then need to re-evaluate the nature of photon as a single entity and create a theoretical model the photons such as a combination  of sub photon particles travelling in groups, and during the travelling though space they may have lost a sub photon particle to an encountered electron with free capacity for such a sub photon particle to be combined into it. Again another force field similar to the combi-F should be considered for keeping the sub photons together.

This may explain the graduate darkness of the visible for example range of photons in the night sky.

All of the above theories require a lot of statistical chances, which may not be easy to confirm in a small scale or a small sample of events.

Giving some light to the dark energy universe.

Imagining the speed of light, we all think the vast speed this thing travels, and how we could achieve that level of speed.

We never imagined that the light as its nature is, is forced to that equilibrium level of travelling than being abled to achieve.

That was due to the Einstein's equation of mass speed and energy, making us think that we need a vast amount of energy to accelerate a tiny mass to the level of the speed of light.

But again we can calculate the amount of energy (all or part of it, I cannot say yet) a simple photon carries. Photons are produced by any source of light, bulbs, LEDs, fire, nuclear reactions etcetera, and is cost effective if we count how many photons a dollar can generate through a light bulb.

Imagining we throw a ball. We see it being affected by the fields it is actually moving in. So, it started as an event with the ball standing and it was accelerated for a short time by an other event (us ?), and it ended later in a standing state somewhere further from where it started.

Entropy would be the explanation for the standing state of the ball.

On the other hand the photon started from an initial state on the speed of light, with a stated frequency and the calculated known form of energy quantity.

Having seen that the above photon is travelling long distances, never losing speed, never losing frequency or conventional energy, I come to ask if this equilibrium of the photon is forced into this condition by the so called Dark Energy.

If there is a condition of rates of conventional mass, energy, speed and time that makes similar levels as light waves, I could believe that the Dark Energy is forcing this condition to last for ever.

If there is an elasticity ratio the above rates are within certain limits such light waves, where he Dark Energy is compensating for the minimal loss of equilibrium, and the equilibrium is enforced by the Dark Energy almost instantly, then I believe by counting an enforced change of a photon's route, energy, frequency, speed or time factor, then we could not only understand why light waves are constant at speed and frequency, but we could also start to understand and measure the nature and level of the Dark Energy, here or in other parts of the universe.

We need to understand that if the compensations of the tiniest changes to light waves are requiring tiny amounts of time and energy, we may do not be able to detect the effects.

But if we could create low enough changes to the conditions of photons and being able to detect the effects of that event, we could probably see that the Dark Energy could become the source of a vast amount of energy, and learn how to control and use it.

If anyone could give me some feedback, positive, negative, disappointing, encouraging or concerning about my mentality, please feel free to post.

Could Entropy be the other side of the ever being the same by the Dark Energy?

But can we observe them?

Physicists Develop a Quantum Interface Between Light and Atoms

May 24, 2010 — Physicists in Germany have developed a quantum interface which connects light particles and atoms.