Interference of clocks:

A quantum twin paradox

authored by

Sina Loriani, Alexander Friedrich, Christian Ufrecht, Fabio Di Pumpo, Stephan Kleinert, Sven Abend, Naceur Gaaloul, Christian Meiners, Christian Schubert, Dorothee Tell, Étienne Wodey, Magdalena Zych, Wolfgang Ertmer, Albert Roura, Dennis Schlippert, Wolfgang P Schleich, Ernst M Rasel, Enno Giese

Abstract

The phase of matter waves depends on proper time and is therefore susceptible to special-relativistic (kinematic) and gravitational (redshift) time dilation. Hence, it is conceivable that atom interferometers measure general-relativistic time-dilation effects. In contrast to this intuition, we show that (i) closed light-pulse interferometers without clock transitions during the pulse sequence are not sensitive to gravitational time dilation in a linear potential. (ii) They can constitute a quantum version of the special-relativistic twin paradox. (iii) Our proposed experimental geometry for a quantum-clock interferometer isolates this effect.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Quantum Optics
CRC 1227 Designed Quantum States of Matter (DQ-mat)

External Organisation(s)

Ulm University
University of Queensland
Texas A and M University
German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Type

Article

Journal

Science advances

Volume

5

ISSN

2375-2548

Publication date

11.10.2019

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1905.09102 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax8966 (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.15488/10475 (Access: Open)