EPJ Quantum Technol. (2017) 4: 2
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjqt/s40507-017-0055-y

Research

A blueprint for a simultaneous test of quantum mechanics and general relativity in a space-based quantum optics experiment

¹ School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TW, UK
² ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
³ Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, Torino, 10129, Italy
⁴ Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRiM), Strada delle cacce 91, Torino, 10135, Italy
⁵ School of Natural Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
⁶ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, Rome, 00184, Italy
⁷ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QH, UK
⁸ Faculdade De Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, Porto, Portugal
⁹ Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Garching, Germany
¹⁰ Aerospace Engineering Department, University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, Johannes Gutenberg-Straße 3, Wiener Neustadt, 2700, Austria
¹¹ Aalto University Metsähovi Radio Observatory, Metsähovintie 114, Kylmälä, 02540, Finland
¹² Aalto University Department of Radio Science and Engineering, 13000, Aalto, 00076, Finland
¹³ APC (AstroParticule et Cosmologie), Université Paris Diderot, CNRS/IN2P3, CEA/Irfu, Observatoire de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Cedex 13, Paris, 75205, France
¹⁴ Low Temperature Laboratory, Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University, P.O. Box 15100, Aalto, 00076, Finland
¹⁵ Albert Einstein Institute, Leibniz University Hanover, Callinstrasse 38, Hanover, 30167, Germany
¹⁶ Radar and Space Technology Research Group, Finnish Meteorological Institute, P.O. Box 503, Helsinki, 00101, Finland
¹⁷ Chalmers University of Technology, Physics and Astronomy, Chalmersplatsen 4, Göteborg, 412 96, Sweden

^* e-mail: sam.pallister@bristol.ac.uk

Received: 4 November 2016
Accepted: 31 January 2017
Published online: 7 February 2017

Abstract

In this paper we propose an experiment designed to observe a general-relativistic effect on single photon interference. The experiment consists of a folded Mach-Zehnder interferometer, with the arms distributed between a single Earth orbiter and a ground station. By compensating for other degrees of freedom and the motion of the orbiter, this setup aims to detect the influence of general relativistic time dilation on a spatially superposed single photon. The proposal details a payload to measure the required effect, along with an extensive feasibility analysis given current technological capabilities.