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Paper   IPM / P / 12189
School of Physics
  Title:   Strong Quantum Violation of the Gravitational Weak Equivalence Principle by a non-Gaussian Wave Packet
  Author(s): 
1.  P. Chowdhury
2.  D. Home
3.  A.S. Majumdar
4.  S.V. Mousavi
5.  M.R. Mozaffari
6.  S. Sinha
  Status:   Published
  Journal: Classical Quant. Grav.
  Vol.:  29
  Year:  2012
  Pages:   025010 (13pp)
  Supported by:  IPM
  Abstract:
The weak equivalence principle of gravity is examined at the quantum level in two ways. First, the position detection probabilities of particles described by a non-Gaussian wave packet projected upwards against gravity around the classical turning point and also around the point of initial projection are calculated. These probabilities exhibit mass dependence at both these points, thereby reflecting the quantum violation of the weak equivalence principle. Second, the mean arrival time of freely falling particles is calculated using the quantum probability current, which also turns out to be mass dependent. Such a mass dependence is shown to be enhanced by increasing the non-Gaussianity parameter of the wave packet, thus signifying a stronger violation of the weak equivalence principle through a greater departure from Gaussianity of the initial wave packet. The mass dependence of both the position detection probabilities and themean arrival time vanishes in the limit of largemass. Thus, compatibility between theweak equivalence principle and quantum mechanics is recovered in the macroscopic limit of the latter. A selection of Bohm trajectories is exhibited to illustrate these features in the free fall case.

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