Researchers reported on the stringent constraints on potential quantum fluctuations of spacetime itself.

The team used high-energy neutrinos detected by the IceCube experiment to look for any loss of coherence in the neutrinos’ oscillating flavor composition as they traveled across billions of light-years.

A better understanding of decoherence could also impact quantum technologies that rely on harnessing quantum coherence.

Image: IceCube tests for fluctuations in the metric of spacetime that would break the normal rules of quantum mechanics for propagating neutrinos. The above graphic shows neutrinos interacting with virtual black holes fluctuating from the metric of spacetime, one possible mechanism of coherence loss.

Credit: IceCube Collaboration