Repulsive Gravitational Force as a Witness of the Quantum Nature of Gravity
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arXiv
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| Auteurs principaux: | , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Publié: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866908830267342848 |
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| author | Saldanha, Pablo L. Marletto, Chiara Vedral, Vlatko |
| author_facet | Saldanha, Pablo L. Marletto, Chiara Vedral, Vlatko |
| contents | We show that a single spatially superposed 'source' mass acting on a 'probe' matter wavepacket can reveal the quantum nature of the gravitational field. For this we use a specific state preparation and measurement of the superposed source mass, including a postselection, which altogether results in a repulsive gravitational force on the probe particle. A classical gravitational field can never lead to repulsion, as the effect requires quantum interference of two distinct states of gravity. We also present a calculation in the Heisenberg picture under the formalism of weak values that illustrates how repulsion is achieved. Finally, we estimate the range of parameters (masses and the spatio-temporal extent of interference) for which the experiment is feasible. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_12266 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Repulsive Gravitational Force as a Witness of the Quantum Nature of Gravity Saldanha, Pablo L. Marletto, Chiara Vedral, Vlatko Quantum Physics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology We show that a single spatially superposed 'source' mass acting on a 'probe' matter wavepacket can reveal the quantum nature of the gravitational field. For this we use a specific state preparation and measurement of the superposed source mass, including a postselection, which altogether results in a repulsive gravitational force on the probe particle. A classical gravitational field can never lead to repulsion, as the effect requires quantum interference of two distinct states of gravity. We also present a calculation in the Heisenberg picture under the formalism of weak values that illustrates how repulsion is achieved. Finally, we estimate the range of parameters (masses and the spatio-temporal extent of interference) for which the experiment is feasible. |
| title | Repulsive Gravitational Force as a Witness of the Quantum Nature of Gravity |
| topic | Quantum Physics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.12266 |