Quantum physical experiments exploring heavy bodies under gravitational force requires protection from environmental noise and the use of highly efficient sensing. In a recent paper, researchers from Hamburg University in Germany review research on gravitational wave detectors as a historical example of quantum technologies and examine the fundamental research on the connection between quantum physics and gravity.
The team examined recent gravitational wave experiments, showing it is possible to shield large objects from strong influences from the thermal and seismic environment to allow them to evolve as one quantum object. Decoupling from the environment enables measurement sensitivities that would otherwise be impossible.
The article “Macroscopic quantum mechanics in gravitational-wave observatories and beyond” is authored by Roman Schnabel and Mikhail Korobko and appears in AVS Quantum Science and can be accessed at https://aip.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1116/5.0077548.
