Quantum clocks observe classical and quantum time dilation.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33097702.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-18264-4 and PMC identifier 7584645.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
At the intersection of quantum theory and relativity lies the possibility of a clock experiencing a superposition of proper times. We consider quantum clocks constructed from the internal degrees of relativistic particles that move through curved spacetime. The probability that one clock reads a given proper time conditioned on another clock reading a different proper time is derived. From this conditional probability distribution, it is shown that when the center-of-mass of these clocks move in localized momentum wave packets they observe classical time dilation. We then illustrate a quantum correction to the time dilation observed by a clock moving in a superposition of localized momentum wave packets that has the potential to be observed in experiment. The Helstrom-Holevo lower bound is used to derive a proper time-energy/mass uncertainty relation.