An international team of physicists has developed a method that allows the use of a next-generation, ultra-precise atomic clock to conduct the first practical experiments aimed at studying the quantum nature of time.
This was reported by the press service of the Stevens Institute of Technology.
Assistant Professor Igor Pekovsky was quoted as saying, "Time plays a completely different role in both relativity theory and quantum mechanics. We have shown for the first time that combining these two concepts may allow for the discovery of hidden quantum properties of the flow of time, which cannot be explained using the laws of classical physics."
Pikowski and his colleagues explained that physicists have been trying for decades to reconcile quantum mechanics and relativity theory, and to find a unified framework for concepts that differ radically between the two theories, including the concept of time.
In relativity theory, the flow of time can differ between stationary and moving objects, whereas in quantum mechanics, time can, in principle, flow at different speeds for the same object.
Researchers from the United States, Canada, and Europe have shown that these phenomena can be detected using the new generation of ultra-precise atomic clocks, which rely on light atoms such as aluminum-27 or boron-10.
According to their calculations, the ions of these elements can be placed in a special quantum state that allows their properties, such as position or speed, to be measured with high accuracy without affecting the "beats" of the atomic clock itself, thus enabling the detection of possible quantum effects on the flow of time.
The results also showed that these clocks have sufficient accuracy to detect phenomena such as "quantum entanglement" between time measurement and clock movement, as well as to observe possible differences in the "beats" of a single clock.
Researchers believe that these experiments may open new horizons for understanding the nature of time, and may contribute to reformulating some of the basic concepts in modern physics.
