Abstract
Both quantum mechanics and general relativity are based on principles that defy our daily intuitions, such as time dilation, quantum interference and entanglement. Because the regimes where the two theories are typically tested are widely separated, their foundational principles are rarely jointly studied. Recent works have found that novel phenomena appear for quantum particles with an internal structure in the presence of time dilation, which can take place at low energies and in weak gravitational fields. Here we briefly review the effects of time dilation on quantum interference and generalize the results to a variety of systems. In addition, we provide an extended study of the basic principles of quantum theory and relativity that are of relevance for the effects and also address several questions that have been raised, such as the description in different reference frames, the role of the equivalence principle and the effective irreversibility of the decoherence. The manuscript clarifies some of the counterintuitive aspects arising when quantum phenomena and general relativistic effects are jointly considered.
Highlights
The interplay between quantum theory and general relativity offers many exciting and novel phenomena
While we showed that time dilation can cause decoherence [3], our works do not fall into this class of models
A similar scenario was studied in [11]. Both works addressed the discussion about the interpretation of an experiment with atomic fountains [12], namely whether the Compton frequency can be associated with a physical clock in quantum interferometry [13,14,15,16,17], and showed that this cannot be the case as it would lead to an additional observable effect on the interferometric visibility
Summary
Both quantum mechanics and general relativity are based on principles that defy our daily intuitions, author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation such as time dilation, quantum interference and entanglement. Theories are typically tested are widely separated, their foundational principles are rarely jointly studied. We briefly review the effects of time dilation on quantum interference and generalize the results to a variety of systems. The manuscript clarifies some of the counterintuitive aspects arising when quantum phenomena and general relativistic effects are jointly considered
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