Quantum optics seminar
Gravitational Interactions in Nuclear Clocks
Mr. Konstantin Beyer
Stevens Institute
Abstract
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89230198523?pwd=ZkMoRxNYwagwVq7Q9j1JxQkQOLVSbr.1
Abstract:
Atomic clocks are among the most precise instruments ever built, and emerging nuclear clocks, which use transitions in the atomic nucleus rather than its electrons, promise to push this precision even further. In this talk, we ask whether a large ensemble of clock nuclei could be used to detect their mutual gravitational pull. Because a nucleus in a superposition of energy states is also in a superposition of masses, this gravitational interaction is genuinely quantum. We find that the resulting clock frequency shift may become non-negligible for a macroscopic number of nuclei in a solid-state configuration. We also discuss why observing gravity-induced entanglement between clocks remains much harder, due to decoherence from spontaneous emission. Taken together, nuclear clocks may open a new route to testing gravity from quantum sources at short distances.
Abstract:
Atomic clocks are among the most precise instruments ever built, and emerging nuclear clocks, which use transitions in the atomic nucleus rather than its electrons, promise to push this precision even further. In this talk, we ask whether a large ensemble of clock nuclei could be used to detect their mutual gravitational pull. Because a nucleus in a superposition of energy states is also in a superposition of masses, this gravitational interaction is genuinely quantum. We find that the resulting clock frequency shift may become non-negligible for a macroscopic number of nuclei in a solid-state configuration. We also discuss why observing gravity-induced entanglement between clocks remains much harder, due to decoherence from spontaneous emission. Taken together, nuclear clocks may open a new route to testing gravity from quantum sources at short distances.