Browsing by Author "Azevedo, Rui"

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    A blueprint for a simultaneous test of quantum mechanics and general relativity in a space-based quantum optics experiment
    (2017-02-07) Pallister, Sam; Coop, Simon; Formichella, Valerio; Gampierakis, Nicolas; Notaro, Virginia; Knott, Paul; Azevedo, Rui; Buchheim, Nikolaus; de Carvalho, Silvio; Järvelä, Emilia; Laporte, Matthieu; Kaikkonen, Jukka-Pekka; Meshksar, Neda; Nikkanen, Timo; Yttergren, Madeleine; Department of Electronics and Nanoengineering; Department of Applied Physics; Metsähovi Radio Observatory; Quantum Circuits and Correlations; University of Bristol; Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology; Polytechnic University of Turin; University of East Anglia; Sapienza University of Rome; University of Sussex; University of Porto; Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics; University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt; Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7; Leibniz University Hannover; Aalto University; Chalmers University of Technology
    In this paper we propose an experiment designed to observe a general-relativistic effect on single photon interference. The experiment consists of a folded Mach-Zehnder interferometer, with the arms distributed between a single Earth orbiter and a ground station. By compensating for other degrees of freedom and the motion of the orbiter, this setup aims to detect the influence of general relativistic time dilation on a spatially superposed single photon. The proposal details a payload to measure the required effect, along with an extensive feasibility analysis given current technological capabilities.
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    GLINT
    (2017-11) Aria, Shafa; Azevedo, Rui; Burow, Rick; Cahill, Fiachra; Ducheckova, Lada; Holroyd, Alexa; Huarcaya, Victor; Järvelä, Emilia; Koßagk, Martin; Moeckel, Chris; Rodriguez-Aramendia, Ana; Royer, Fabien; Sypniewski, Richard; Vittori, Edoardo; Yttergren, Madeleine; University of Oslo; University of Porto; University of Bremen; Maynooth University; Czech Technical University in Prague; University of Bristol; National University of Singapore; Metsähovi Radio Observatory; Technische Universität Dresden; Delft University of Technology; University of Vienna; Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace; FOTEC Forschungs- und Technologietransfer GmbH; Imperial College London; Chalmers University of Technology
    When the universe was roughly one billion years old, supermassive black holes (103-106 solar masses) already existed. The occurrence of supermassive black holes on such short time scales are poorly understood in terms of their physical or evolutionary processes. Our current understanding is limited by the lack of observational data due the limits of electromagnetic radiation. Gravitational waves as predicted by the theory of general relativity have provided us with the means to probe deeper into the history of the universe. During the ESA Alpach Summer School of 2015, a group of science and engineering students devised GLINT (Gravitational-wave Laser INterferometry Triangle), a space mission concept capable of measuring gravitational waves emitted by black holes that have formed at the early periods after the big bang. Morespecifically at redshifts of 15 < z < 30(∼ 0.1 − 0.3× 109 years after the big bang) in the frequency range 0.01 − 1 Hz. GLINT design strain sensitivity of (Formula presented.) will theoretically allow the study of early black holes formations as well as merging events and collapses. The laser interferometry, the technology used for measuring gravitational waves, monitors the separation of test masses in free-fall, where a change of separation indicates the passage of a gravitational wave. The test masses will be shielded from disturbing forces in a constellation of three geocentric orbiting satellites.