Princeton University Gravity Initiative Special Seminar

Black Holes Are Watching You

Abstract: We show that if a massive body is put in a quantum superposition of spatially separated states, the mere presence of a black hole in the vicinity of the body will eventually destroy the coherence of the superposition. This occurs because, in effect, the black hole acquires "which path" information about the superposition due to the radiation of "soft gravitons" through the event horizon. A similar effect occurs for quantum superpositions of electrically charged bodies. We provide estimates of the decoherence time for such quantum superpositions.

Date & Time

October 06, 2022 | 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Location

Princeton University, Jadwin Hall, Princeton Gravity Initiative, 4th Floor & Zoom

Speakers

Gautam Satishchandran

Affiliation

Princeton University