Interference of clocks: A quantum twin paradox.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 31620559.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.aax8966 and PMC identifier 6777965.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC.
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Abstract
The phase of matter waves depends on proper time and is therefore susceptible to special-relativistic (kinematic) and gravitational (redshift) time dilation. Hence, it is conceivable that atom interferometers measure general-relativistic time-dilation effects. In contrast to this intuition, we show that (i) closed light-pulse interferometers without clock transitions during the pulse sequence are not sensitive to gravitational time dilation in a linear potential. (ii) They can constitute a quantum version of the special-relativistic twin paradox. (iii) Our proposed experimental geometry for a quantum-clock interferometer isolates this effect.