Experimental test of photonic entanglement in accelerated reference frames

Fink, Matthias; Rodriguez-Aramendia, Ana; Handsteiner, Johannes; Ziarkash, Abdul; Steinlechner, Fabian; Scheidl, Thomas; Fuentes, Ivette; Pienaar, Jacques; Ralph, Timothy C.; Ursin, Rupert

Abstract

The unification of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics is a long-standing challenge in contemporary physics. Experimental techniques in quantum optics have only recently reached the maturity required for the investigation of quantum systems under the influence of non-inertial motion, such as being held at rest in gravitational fields, or subjected to uniform accelerations. Here, we report on experiments in which a genuine quantum state of an entangled photon pair is exposed to a series of different accelerations. We measure an entanglement witness for g-values ranging from 30 mg to up to 30 g—under free-fall as well on a spinning centrifuge—and have thus derived an upper bound on the effects of uniform acceleration on photonic entanglement.

Citation

Fink, M., Rodriguez-Aramendia, A., Handsteiner, J., Ziarkash, A., Steinlechner, F., Scheidl, T., …Ursin, R. (2017). Experimental test of photonic entanglement in accelerated reference frames. Nature Communications, 8, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15304

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 20, 2017
• Online Publication Date: May 10, 2017
• Publication Date: May 10, 2017
• Deposit Date: Dec 15, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 7, 2018
• Journal: Nature Communications
• Electronic ISSN: 2041-1723
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 8
• Article Number: 15304
• Pages: 1-6
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms15304
• Public URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15304
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15304
• PMID: 00040088