Distributed entanglement as a probe for the quantum structure of spacetime

Abstract

Simultaneity is a well-defined notion in special relativity once a Minkowski metric structure is fixed on the spacetime continuum (manifold) of events. In quantum gravity, however, the metric is not expected to be a fixed, classical structure, but a fluctuating quantum operator which may assume a coherent superposition of two classically-distinguishable values. A natural question to ask is what happens to the notion of simultaneity and synchronization when the metric is in a quantum superposition. Here we show that the resource of distributed entanglement of the same kind as used by Jozsa et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 2010 (2000)] gives rise to an experimental probe that is sensitive to coherent quantum fluctuations in the spacetime metric.