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HEIndividual fellowship2022–2024

MAGIQUE · MeAsurement of Gravitational effects on photonIc QUantum systEm

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2022-06-01 → 2024-05-31
EU contribution
€183,601
Participants
1
Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

MeAsurement of Gravitational effects on photonIc QUantum systEm

MAGIQUE aims to examine the influence of gravity on quantum effects in fiber photonic systems. High-precision interferometry whose paths are subject to different gravitational potentials will be performed at the level of photons. Demonstration of a gravitationally-induced phase shift on single photons would be the very first time in the world and open the path to unique GR-QM interplay experiments. This will also push the limits of quantum optics, single-photon fiber interferometry and quantum gravity theory. The two main goals of MAGIQUE are: 1. Making a leap to large-scale fiber interferometry with quantum enhancement. This will be enabled by achieving the expected stabilization and sensitivity of the proposed single photon fiber interferometer, adapting state-of-art single-photon manipulation systems and extreme-precision readout techniques. This will open the path for handling large-scale interferometric setups with path-entangled quantum states, leading the way to relativistic measurements on gravitationally-induced effects. 2. Testing the effect of gravity on quantum superposition and entanglement for the first time. This will be enabled by detecting gravitationally-induced phase shifts by interfering light from continuous-wave (CW) laser and/or single photons following trajectories on different gravitational potentials. This will be the very first non-Newtonian gravitational test in a truly quantum system, paving the way for potential new quantum gravity theories.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

The interplay between the two main pillars of physics ─ quantum mechanics (QM) and general relativity (GR) ─ has never been understood or tested by scientists, and this has become one of the most important, interesting and challenging research areas over the past decades. So far there is no experiment demonstrating how gravity affects unique quantum features, e.g. superposition and entanglement. This project is aimed to combine quantum interference and GR in a single table-top experiment using Mach-Zehnder fiber interferometry. Single photons and entanglement states will be employed to investigate how gravity alters quantum correlations and superposition of massless particles.It would be a great scientific breakthrough to demonstrate gravitational-induced effects on single photons and quantum states, paving the way for quantum gravitational lab-scale experiments. This project will push large-scale high-precision single photon interferometry to a new level, leading to the development of cutting-edge techniques from various disciplines ─ quantum photonics, precision interferometry, frequency metrology, etc. This study is timely and highly relevant to the current EU research trends, going in line with the prioritized research directions of Horizon Europe: quantum technologies and time & frequency services.This project will be implemented in the group of Prof. Philip Walther at the University of Vienna. The host group expertise in quantum control and their state-of-the-art single photon facilities perfectly complements to the Researcher Dr. Yu’s background in interferometric gravitational wave detection and macroscopic QM phenomena. This Fellowship will enable the two parties to combine their skills and achieve the major scientific goals. Furthermore, this Fellowship will greatly improve Dr. Yu’s leadership skills, strongly diversify her knowledge, establish new academic links and boost her track record that would have a significant impact on her academic career.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • UNIVERSITAT WIEN · WienCoordinatorAustria

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union