Experimental observation of Earth’s rotation with quantum entanglement

Raffaele Silvestri, Haocun Yu (Corresponding author), Teodor Strömberg, Christopher Hilweg, Robert W. Peterson, Philip Walther (Corresponding author)

Publications: Contribution to journalArticlePeer Reviewed

Abstract

Precision interferometry with quantum states has emerged as an essential tool for experimentally answering fundamental questions in physics. Optical quantum interferometers are of particular interest because of mature methods for generating and manipulating quantum states of light. Their increased sensitivity promises to enable tests of quantum phenomena, such as entanglement, in regimes where tiny gravitational effects come into play. However, this requires long and decoherence-free processing of quantum entanglement, which, for large interferometric areas, remains unexplored territory. Here, we present a table-top experiment using maximally path-entangled quantum states of light in a large-scale interferometer sensitive enough to measure the rotation rate of Earth. The achieved sensitivity of 5 μrad s−1 constitutes the highest rotation resolution ever reached with optical quantum interferometers. Further improvements to our methodology will enable measurements of general-relativistic effects on entangled photons, allowing the exploration of the interplay between quantum mechanics and general relativity along with tests for fundamental physics.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbereado0215
Number of pages9
JournalScience Advances
Volume10
Issue number24
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Jun 2024

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 103026 Quantum optics
  • 103025 Quantum mechanics
  • 103028 Theory of relativity

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