Theoretical Aspects of Gravitational Quantum Optics

Date: October 3, 2023
Time: 12:30 CEST
Event: Vienna Theory Lunch Seminar at the University of Vienna
Location: Vienna, Austria

Abstract: To study the interplay of gravity and quantum physics, experiments are under development that aim at measuring phase shifts induced by Earth’s gravitational field in single photons or entangled photon pairs. Hitherto-developed descriptions of such experiments are based mainly on semi-classical analyses or drastically simplified models based on quantum field theory in curved space-time. After discussing the motivation behind such efforts and reviewing previous theoretical work on this subject, this talk presents a model of single-photon interferometry in curved space-times, specifically developed to describe setups as considered in current experimental proposals. This comprises a quantization of the electromagnetic field in dielectric media, located in curved space-time, together with perturbative calculations on fiber optics in non-inertial systems.