Quantum Optics meets Gravity

by Dr Igor Pikovski (SU)

Tuesday 22 Mar 2022, 13:15 → 14:15 Europe/Stockholm

Zoom: https://stockholmuniversity.zoom.us/j/62320153507

Quantum control of systems at novel scales has opened new possibilities for studying fundamental physics. The so-called "high-precision frontier" leverages the control and measurement of quantum optical systems to test physics and phenomenology beyond the Standard Model. A related emerging field is the study of gravity with quantum optical systems. Here I will briefly review what aspects of the interplay between quantum mechanics and gravity can be accessible with quantum optical systems and what new phenomena may arise at these scales. I will then focus on a specific, phenomenological model that predicts a modified Heisenberg uncertainty principle. I will show how such models can be constrained and probed in opto-mechanical systems and how laboratory tests can be adapted to close some loopholes. These proposals provide an example of how near-future laboratory experiments with novel quantum optical systems can offer experimental input to the gravity-quantum interface.