Spin‐Spacetime Censorship

• Published in: Annalen der Physik 2022-01, Vol.534 (1), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Nemirovsky, Jonathan, Cohen, Eliahu, Kaminer, Ido
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Angular momentum; Censorship; Cloning; entanglements; Experiments; foundations of quantum mechanics; Magnetic fields; Particle spin; Quantum entanglement; Quantum gravity; quantum information; Quantum mechanics; Quantum phenomena; Quantum physics; Relativistic effects; Relativity; Spacetime; Symmetry; the EPR gedanken experiments
• ISSN: 0003-3804; 1521-3889
• DOI: 10.1002/andp.202100348

Quantum entanglement and relativistic causality are key concepts in theoretical works seeking to unify quantum mechanics and gravity. In this article, a gedanken experiment that couples the spin to spacetime is proposed, and is then analyzed in the context of quantum information by using different approaches to quantum gravity. Both classical gravity theory and certain quantum theories predict that around a spin‐half particle, the spherical symmetry of spacetime is broken by its magnetic field or merely by its intrinsic angular momentum. It is asserted that any spin‐related deviation from spherical symmetry, upon appropriate measurement, can violate relativistic causality and quantum no‐cloning. To avoid these violations, the measurable spacetime around the particle's rest frame shall typically remain spherically symmetric, potentially as a back‐action by the act of a covariant measurement, or due to a quantized spin‐dependence of the magnetic field. This way, this gedanken experiment suggests a censorship mechanism preventing the possibility of spacetime‐based spin detection, which can shed light on the interface between quantum mechanics and gravity. Since this proposed gedanken experiment is independent of any specific theory, it is suitable for testing the coupling of quantum matter and spacetime in present and future candidate theories of quantum gravity. A new gedanken experiment challenges conventional thinking about how spin‐half particles couple to spacetime. Classical gravity and several quantum gravity theories predict that spin breaks the spherical‐symmetry of spacetime around it. Quantum information arguments show that this break must remain hidden, “censored” from any measurement (e.g., using clocks). Various quantum gravity theories are tested using this new gedanken experiment.