01487nas a2200157 4500008004100000022001400041245008000055210006900135260001400204490000600218520099400224100001901218700002001237700002201257856005001279 2021 eng d a2691-339900aUsing an Atom Interferometer to Infer Gravitational Entanglement Generation0 aUsing an Atom Interferometer to Infer Gravitational Entanglement c8/20/20210 v23 a
If gravitational perturbations are quantized into gravitons in analogy with the electromagnetic field and photons, the resulting graviton interactions should lead to an entangling interaction between massive objects. We suggest a test of this prediction. To do this, we introduce the concept of interactive quantum information sensing. This novel sensing protocol is tailored to provable verification of weak dynamical entanglement generation between a pair of systems. We show that this protocol is highly robust to typical thermal noise sources. The sensitivity can moreover be increased both using an initial thermal state and/or an initial phase of entangling via a non-gravitational interaction. We outline a concrete implementation testing the ability of the gravitational field to generate entanglement between an atomic interferometer and mechanical oscillator. Preliminary numerical estimates suggest that near-term devices could feasibly be used to perform the experiment.
1 aCarney, Daniel1 aMüller, Holger1 aTaylor, Jacob, M. uhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PRXQuantum.2.030330