An international research team, including Nobel laureate Professor Sir Roger Penrose, has directly observed a gravitational effect predicted by Einstein’s theory in a falling quantum object for the first time. The experiment, conducted by researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the University of Ulm, and the University of Oxford, demonstrated that Einstein’s equivalence principle remains consistent with quantum behavior under the tested conditions. The findings were published on September 2 in Science Advances.

The researchers utilized a Quantum Galileo Interferometer to split the quantum wave associated with ultracold rubidium atoms into two paths. One part of the wave was kept stationary while the other was allowed to fall freely under gravity. By recombining the two paths and measuring the resulting quantum phase interference, the team observed a phase shift that matched the prediction derived from extending Einstein’s equivalence principle to quantum objects. This result establishes a direct experimental link between quantum physics and Einstein’s description of gravity, although it does not constitute a unified theory of quantum mechanics and gravity nor prove that gravity itself is quantum. Source

This is a summary. Read the original at sciencedaily.com.