2012/10/31 by Huan Yang, Haixing Miao, Da-Shin Lee +2 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #gr-qc
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.110.170401
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 170401, (2013) · 5+3 pages, 1 figure
arxiv created 2013/04/23 · arxiv updated 2013/05/01
We apply the many-particle Schrödinger-Newton equation, which describes the co-evolution of an many-particle quantum wave function and a classical space-time geometry, to macroscopic mechanical objects. By averaging over motions of the objects' internal degrees of freedom, we obtain an effective Schrödinger-Newton equation for their centers of mass, which are degrees of freedom that can be monitored and manipulated at the quantum mechanical levels by state-of-the-art optoemchanics experiments. For a single macroscopic object moving quantum mechanically within a harmonic potential well, we found that its quantum uncertainty evolves in a different frequency from its classical eigenfrequency --- with a difference that depends on the internal structure of the object, and can be observable using current technology. For several objects, the Schrödinger-Newton equation predicts semiclassical motions just like Newtonian physics, yet they do not allow quantum uncertainty to be transferred from one object to another through gravity.