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Quantum test of the equivalence principle for atoms in coherent superposition of internal energy states.

ABSTRACT: The Einstein equivalence principle (EEP) has a central role in the understanding of gravity and space-time. In its weak form, or weak equivalence principle (WEP), it directly implies equivalence between inertial and gravitational mass. Verifying this principle in a regime where the relevant properties of the test body must be described by quantum theory has profound implications. Here we report on a novel WEP test for atoms: a Bragg atom interferometer in a gravity gradiometer configuration compares the free fall of rubidium atoms prepared in two hyperfine states and in their coherent superposition. The use of the superposition state allows testing genuine quantum aspects of EEP with no classical analogue, which have remained completely unexplored so far. In addition, we measure the Eötvös ratio of atoms in two hyperfine levels with relative uncertainty in the low 10-9, improving previous results by almost two orders of magnitude.

SUBMITTER: Rosi G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5461482 | biostudies-other | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Quantum test of the equivalence principle for atoms in coherent superposition of internal energy states.

Rosi G G D'Amico G G Cacciapuoti L L Sorrentino F F Prevedelli M M Zych M M Brukner Č Č Tino G M GM

Nature communications 20170601

The Einstein equivalence principle (EEP) has a central role in the understanding of gravity and space-time. In its weak form, or weak equivalence principle (WEP), it directly implies equivalence between inertial and gravitational mass. Verifying this principle in a regime where the relevant properties of the test body must be described by quantum theory has profound implications. Here we report on a novel WEP test for atoms: a Bragg atom interferometer in a gravity gradiometer configuration comp ...[more]

PMID: 28569742

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Project description:Energy decomposition analysis (EDA) is a well-established approach to dissect the interaction energy into chemically sound components. Despite the inherent requirement of reference states has been a long-standing object of debate, the direct relation with the molecular orbital analysis helps in building up predictive models. The alternative molecular energy decomposition schemes that decompose the total energy into atomic and diatomic contributions, such as the interacting quantum atoms (IQA), has no external reference requirements and also the intra- and intermolecular interactions are treated on equal footing. However, a connection with heuristic chemical models are limited, bringing about a somewhat narrower predictive power. While efforts to reconcile the bonding picture obtained by both methodologies have been discussed in the past, a synergic combination of them has not been tackled yet. Herein, we present the use of IQA decomposition of the individual terms arising from the EDA in the context of intermolecular interactions, henceforth EDA-IQA. The method is applied to a molecular set covering a wide range of interaction types, including hydrogen bonding, charge-dipole, π-π and halogen interactions. We find that the electrostatic energy from EDA, entirely seen as intermolecular, leads to meaningful and non-negligible intra-fragment contributions upon IQA decomposition, originated from charge penetration. EDA-IQA also affords the decomposition of the Pauli repulsion term into intra- and inter-fragment contributions. The intra-fragment term is destabilizing, particularly for the moieties that are net acceptors of charge, while the inter-fragment Pauli term is actually stabilizing. In the case of the orbital interaction term, the sign and magnitude of the intra-fragment contribution at equilibrium geometries is largely driven by the amount of charge transfer, while the inter-fragment contribution is clearly stabilizing. EDA-IQA terms show a smooth behavior along the intermolecular dissociation path of selected systems. The new EDA-IQA methodology provides a richer energy decomposition scheme that aims at bridging the gap between the two main distinct real-space and Hilbert-space methodologies. Via this approach, the partitioning can be used directionally on all the EDA terms aiding in identifying the causal effects on geometries and/or reactivity.

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Quantum test of the equivalence principle for atoms in coherent superposition of internal energy states.

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Quantum test of the equivalence principle for atoms in coherent superposition of internal energy states.

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