Gravity Mediated Entanglement between Oscillators as Quantum Superposition of Geometries

Abstract

Protocols for observing gravity induced entanglement typically comprise the interaction of two particles prepared either in a superposition of two discrete paths, or in a continuously delocalized (harmonic oscillator) state of motion. An important open question has been whether these two different approaches allow to draw the same conclusions on the quantum nature of gravity. To answer this question, we analyse using the path-integral approach a setup that contains both features: a superposition of two highly delocalized center of mass states. We conclude that the two usual protocols are of similar epistemological relevance. In both cases the appearance of entanglement, within linearised quantum gravity, is due to gravity being in a highly non-classical state: a superposition of distinct geometries.