Gravitational time dilation in extended quantum systems: The case of light clocks in Schwarzschild spacetime

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelForschungPeer-Review

Autoren

  • Tupac Bravo
  • Dennis Rätzel
  • Ivette Fuentes

Externe Organisationen

  • Universität Wien
  • Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU Berlin)
  • Universität Bremen
  • University of Southampton
Forschungs-netzwerk anzeigen

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Aufsatznummer014401
FachzeitschriftAVS Quantum Science
Jahrgang5
Ausgabenummer1
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - März 2023
Extern publiziertJa

Abstract

The precision of optical atomic clocks is approaching a regime where they resolve gravitational time dilation on smaller scales than their own extensions. Hence, an accurate description of quantum clocks has to take their spatial extension into account. In this article, as a first step toward a fully relativistic description of extended quantum clocks, we investigate a quantized version of Einstein's light clock fixed at a constant distance from a large massive object like the Earth. The model consists of a quantum light field in a one-dimensional cavity in Schwarzschild spacetime, where the distance between the mirrors is fixed by a rigid rod. By comparing a vertical and a horizontal clock, we propose an operational way to define the clock time when the clock resolves gravitational time dilation on scales smaller than its extension. In particular, we show that the time measured by the vertical light clock is equivalent to the proper time defined at its center. We also derive fundamental bounds on the precision of these clocks for measurements of proper time and the Schwarzschild radius.

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Zitieren

Gravitational time dilation in extended quantum systems: The case of light clocks in Schwarzschild spacetime. / Bravo, Tupac; Rätzel, Dennis; Fuentes, Ivette.
in: AVS Quantum Science, Jahrgang 5, Nr. 1, 014401, 03.2023.

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelForschungPeer-Review

Bravo T, Rätzel D, Fuentes I. Gravitational time dilation in extended quantum systems: The case of light clocks in Schwarzschild spacetime. AVS Quantum Science. 2023 Mär;5(1):014401. doi: 10.1116/5.0123228
Bravo, Tupac ; Rätzel, Dennis ; Fuentes, Ivette. / Gravitational time dilation in extended quantum systems: The case of light clocks in Schwarzschild spacetime. in: AVS Quantum Science. 2023 ; Jahrgang 5, Nr. 1.
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