Hi all,
This week Emilien de Bank is presenting his master thesis entitled "Operational localisation limits in linearised quantum gravity with quantum clocks". The talk will take place at 2pm in HCI F 2. See below for the abstract.
Best, Ladina
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Title: Operational localisation limits in linearised quantum gravity with quantum clocks
Abstract: Many indirect arguments in quantum gravity point toward the existence of a minimal length, that can be interpreted as the smallest resolvable unit of spacetime. However, most approaches to quantum gravity do not offer a measurement model that would clarify how such a length scale can be obtained more concretely. An operational definition of this minimal length has not been derived even in the weak field regime, where there is a solid formulation of gravity in the quantum regime, i.e. linearised quantum gravity. This thesis aims to fill this gap and justify the Planck length's role as the minimal precision on proper time measurement. First, ideal clocks with classical trajectories in an effective field theory framework for weak field quantum gravity are considered. Concretely, linearised quantum gravity is used to determine the effect of quantum vacuum fluctuations on the uncertainty of the recorded proper time. Then, quantum clocks are used to infer the localisation limit using interferometry. Different clock models have been considered to probe how quantum clocks directly hinder the resolvability of the localisation limit.