Entanglement-induced deviation from the geodesic motion in quantum gravity

Abstract

We study the derivation of the effective equation of motion for a pointlike particle in the framework of quantum gravity. Just like the geodesic motion of a classical particle is a consequence of classical field theory coupled to general relativity, we introduce the similar notion of an effective equation of motion, but starting from an abstract quantum gravity description. In the presence of entanglement between gravity and matter, quantum effects give rise to modifications of the geodesic trajectory, primarily as a consequence of the nonzero overlap between various coherent states of the gravity-matter system. Finally, we discuss the status of the weak equivalence principle in quantum gravity and its possible violation due to the nongeodesic motion.