Quantum mechanics in quantum reference frames

by Flaminia Giacomini (University of Wien)

Friday 21 Apr 2017, 11:30 → 13:00 Europe/Rome

Sala Lauree (Dipartimento di Fisica - Ed. G. Marconi)

In all our known theories, our description of the physical world always relies on the existence of a classical, ideal reference frame. If we abandon this idealised view and consider a reference frame as a physical system, we need to take into account the dynamical degrees of freedom of the reference frame. Here, we address the question of describing physics within quantum reference frames. By quantum reference frames we mean a physical system showing quantum properties such as superposition and entanglement. We describe how it is possible to change perspective from the classical external reference frame to a quantum reference frame, we show how the quantum state transforms, and we address the measurement in quantum reference frames. Moreover, we consider the dynamical laws and derive the Schrödinger equation in quantum reference frames. In particular, we analyse the situation in which the new reference frame is in a superposition of velocities from the point of view of the old one, and show that the transformation corresponding to a "superposition of Galilean boosts" preserves the covariance of the Schrödinger equation.