IIT Guwahati and Stellenbosch University researchers discover 'Quantum Nature of Gravity'

In a joint endeavor, researchers from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa and the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT Guwahati), have found some intriguing discoveries on the 'quantum nature of gravity'.

The study on gravity-induced entanglement (GIE), conducted under the direction of Dr. Bibhas Ranjan Majhi, Associate Professor, Department of Physics, IIT Guwahati, and Dr. Partha Nandi, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, has been published in the journal Physics Letters B.

The goal of the research is to comprehend the behavior of gravity at extremely small scales, where current theories begin to break down, such as those of atoms and subatomic particles.

The research conducted by Dr Majhi and Dr Nandi looks at how gravity could cause entanglement, which is a process in quantum physics where two particles become connected to the point where their states are affected by each other regardless of their distance from one another.

"The concept of gravity-induced entanglement proposes that under certain conditions, gravitational forces may create this quantum connection, revealing a quantum aspect of gravity," the press release said.

“We have developed a theoretical framework that connects a two-dimensional quantum harmonic oscillator with gravitational waves — ripples in space-time caused by massive objects like black holes. This approach bypasses the limitations of classical communication methods and explores whether quantized gravitational waves can induce entanglement,” said Dr Majhi.

“Our findings show that while classical gravitational waves do not generate entanglement, the quantum version of these waves does, at the second order of gravitational perturbation,” he added.

"If gravity-induced entanglement can be detected with gravitational wave detectors, it could be the first proof that gravity functions at the quantum level," it said.

"Such a discovery could shed light on other cosmic riddles, such as the nature of dark matter and dark energy, which make up the majority of the cosmos but are still poorly understood," the release further added.