On free fall of quantum matter

Abstract

We propose an approach that allows to systematically take into account gravity in quantum particle physics. It is based on quantum field theory and the general principle of relativity. These are used to build a model for quantum particles in curved spacetime. We compute by its means a deviation from a classical geodesic in the Earth’s gravitational field. This shows that free fall depends on quantum- matter properties. Specifically, we find that the free-fall universality and the wave-packet spreading are mutually exclusive phenomena. We then estimate the Eötvös parameter for a pair of atoms freely falling near the Earth’s surface, provided that the wave-packet spreading is more fundamental than the weak equivalence principle.