A simple superconductor quantum interference device for testing gravity

Abstract

A simple tabletop setup based on a superconducting quantum interference device is proposed for testing the gravitational interaction. A D-shaped superconducting loop has the straight segment immersed inside a massive sphere while the half-circle segment is wrapped around the sphere. The superconducting condensate within the straight arm of the loop thus bathes inside a gravitational simple harmonic oscillator potential while the condensate in the half-circle arm bathes in the constant gravitational potential around the sphere. The resulting phase difference at the Josephson junctions on both sides of the straight arm induces a sinusoidal electric current that has a frequency determined by the precise gravitational potential due to the massive sphere.

Interaction between macroscopic quantum systems and gravity

“…It could be then possible to formulate (and observe) a possible interplay between the extended, coherent system and the surrounding gravitational field [1-3, 7, 17, 26, 78-96]. The coupling with the current flow without resistance in superconductors was exploited to use the latter as a sensitive detection systems, in particular for gravitational waves [43,49,50,53,[97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109].…”

Superconductors and gravity

“…It could be then possible to formulate (and observe) a possible interplay between the extended, coherent system and the surrounding gravitational field . In this regard, the coupling with the current flow without resistance in superconductors was exploited to use the latter as a sensitive detection systems, in particular for gravitational waves [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. Another remarkable phenomenon, showing quantum effects originating from the interaction of quantum particles with a weak-field gravitational background, is the gravity-induced quantum interference [39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48].…”