Gravitationally-induced wave function collapse time for molecules

2024/01/01 by A. A. Tomaz, Rafael S. Mattos, Mario Barbatti · 1 voice · 7 citations
Physics and Astronomy · Computer Science · #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Quantum Information and Cryptography

paper · pdf · doi:10.1039/d4cp02364a

openalex publication_date 2024/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25

Abstract

The Diósi-Penrose model states that the wave function collapse ending a quantum superposition occurs due to the instability of coexisting gravitational potentials created by distinct geometric conformations of the system in different states. The Heisenberg time-energy principle can be invoked to estimate the collapse time for the energy associated with this instability, the gravitational self-energy. This paper develops atomistic models to calculate the Diósi-Penrose collapse time. It applies them to a range of systems, from small molecules to large biological structures and macroscopic systems. An experiment is suggested to test the Diósi-Penrose hypothesis, and we critically examine the model, highlighting challenges from an atomistic perspective, such as gravitational self-energy saturation and limited extensivity.

Citations

• Modern Quantum Mechanics
• Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?
• An introduction to QBism with an application to the locality of quantum mechanics
• Relational quantum mechanics
• On Gravity's role in Quantum State Reduction
• Decoherence, einselection, and the quantum origins of the classical
• Ab Initio Calculation of Vibrational Absorption and Circular Dichroism Spectra Using Density Functional Force Fields

Cited by

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• Trapping and cooling of nanodiamonds in a Paul trap under ultra-high vacuum: Towards matter-wave interferometry with massive objects
• Design of high-efficiency UHV loading of nanodiamonds into a Paul trap: Towards Matter-Wave Interferometry with Massive Objects
• Strong Confinement of a Nanodiamond in a Needle Paul Trap: Towards Matter-Wave Interferometry with Massive Objects
• Parametric feedback cooling of librations of a nanodiamond in a Paul trap: Towards matter-wave interferometry with massive objects
• Fabrication of nano-diamonds with a single NV center: Towards matter-wave interferometry with massive objects

Discussions

• We computed wavefunction collapse times based on the Diósi-Penrose hypothesis that gravity induces collapse. These times range from sub-attoseconds in macroscopic bodies to billions of years in isola [bsky, 2 points, 0 comments]

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