CAREER: Towards Low-Energy Tests of Quantum Gravity with AMO Systems

一个多世纪前，两种理论彻底改变了物理学：量子理论和爱因斯坦的广义相对论。量子理论描述了自然界最小的组成部分，并预测了令人费解的现象，这些现象已被证实在原子尺度上具有巨大的精确度。另一方面，广义相对论将重力描述为弯曲的空间和时间：它支配着行星、星系甚至宇宙的动力学。这两种理论都经受住了时间的考验，没有实验迹象表明它们中的任何一种需要重新审视。然而，两者似乎彼此不一致，如何将它们结合成一个单一的框架仍然是一个谜。目前还没有发现完整的量子引力理论。一个主要的挑战是缺乏能够指导理论发展的实验证据，因为这两种理论在看似遥远的范围内都是相关的。这个项目旨在从一个新的角度来解决这个问题：使用量子技术来测试量子理论和引力的相互作用。新的方法侧重于量子信息科学的基本概念，以及现在以全新规模运行的量子系统实验控制的新发展。该项目的目标是展示如何在量子理论和引力的界面上测试引力的量子本质和新物理的签名。虽然该项目坚定地植根于基础研究，目标是以新的跨学科方式进步科学，但它也将推动量子技术的发展。它将涉及本科生和K-12学生，培养对最基本的自然问题的兴趣，并提供量子信息科学方面的培训。虽然量子引力效应通常与遥远的普朗克尺度有关，但在过去的十年里，一个新的量子信息视角为可能的预期和推测物理的间接实验测试开辟了新的途径。在这些发展和快速推进的实验平台的基础上，该项目将解决当前的概念和实践挑战，以实现对量子引力的实验搜索。该小组将基于AMO系统和量子信息概念设计新的探测方法，使量子引力现象学能够在低能量下进行测试。这项工作将集中在可以间接揭示引力量子化特征的基本原理的测试上，以及对可以在不久的将来的实验中探测到的低能特征的推测模型的测试上。该项目将通过为AMO系统的新实验提供现实的途径，克服当前的技术和概念缺陷，并支持基础科学的量子技术开发，从而显著推进这一年轻而有前途的研究领域。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

More than a century ago, two theories revolutionized physics: quantum theory and Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Quantum theory describes the smallest building blocks of nature and predicts puzzling phenomena that have been confirmed to enormous precision on atomic scales. General relativity, on the other hand, describes gravity as curved space and time: it governs the dynamics of planets, galaxies and even the universe. Both theories withstood the test of time and there is no experimental indication that either of them needs to be revisited. Yet, both are seemingly at odds with each other, and it remains a puzzle how to combine them into a single framework. No complete theory of quantum gravity has yet been found. A major challenge is the scant experimental evidence that could guide theoretical developments, as both theories are relevant at seemingly distant scales. This project aims to tackle the problem from a new perspective: using quantum technologies to test the interplay of quantum theory and gravity. The new approach focuses on fundamental concepts in quantum information science, and on new developments in the experimental control of quantum systems that now operate at entirely new scales. The goal of the project is to show how to test signatures of the quantum nature of gravity and of new physics at the interface of quantum theory and gravity. While firmly rooted in basic research with the goal to progress science in new interdisciplinary ways, the project will also advance the development of quantum technologies. It will involve undergraduate and K-12 students, fostering the fascination for the most fundamental questions of nature and provide training in quantum information science. While quantum gravity effects are usually associated with the distant Planck-scale, in the past decade a new quantum information perspective has opened novel routes for possible indirect experimental tests of expected and speculative physics. Building on these developments and rapidly advancing experimental platforms, this project will address current conceptual and practical challenges to enable experimental searches for quantum gravity. The group will design new detection methods based on AMO systems and quantum information concepts that can enable tests of quantum gravity phenomenology at low energies. The work will focus on tests of fundamental principles that can indirectly reveal signatures of quantization of gravity, and on tests of speculative models that show signatures at low energies that can be probed in near-future experiments. The project will significantly advance this young and promising research field by providing realistic paths for new experiments with AMO systems, overcoming current technical and conceptual drawbacks, and support quantum technology development for basic science.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.