New relativistic gravitational effects using charged-particle interferometry

A new class of gravitational effects, in the quantum interference of charged particles, are studied in electron interferometry and superconducting Josephson interferometry. These include phase shifts due to the gravitationally induced Schiff-Barnhill field, rotationally induced London moment, and the modification of the Aharonov-Bohm type of phase shifts, due to the general relativistic coupling of the electromagnetic field to the gravitational field. These effects are interesting, even from a purely theoretical point of view, because they involve an elegant interplay between gravitation, electromagnetism, and quantum mechanics. But new predictions are also made which, if confirmed, would provide the first observation of relativistic gravitational effects, involving the electric charge, at the quantum mechanical level. The possibility of using these effects to detect gravitational waves is also discussed.This essay received the first award from the Gravity Research Foundation for the year 1983-Ed.     

Pauli equation for a particle in metric and electromagnetic fields

A Pauli theory (Pauli equation and definition of probability current and density) for a particle in weak metric and arbitrary electromagnetic fields is treated. To formulate non-relativistic quantum mechanical problems in arbitrary electromagnetic fields and weak metrics (non-inertial systems, gravitational fields which are distant fields of arbitrary distribution of masses, gravitational waves) it is not necessary to make use of the general-relativistic Dirac equation. Close analogies to the known Pauli theory with electromagnetic fields exist. For different metric fields the corresponding Hamiltonians are given. For quantum systems (H-atoms) which are disturbed by a homogeneous gravitational field and a gravitational wave the resulting shift of energy levels and the transition probability is calculated.     

Quantum Incompressibility of a Falling Rydberg Atom, and a Gravitationally-Induced Charge Separation Effect in Superconducting Systems

Freely falling point-like objects converge toward the center of the Earth. Hence the gravitational field of the Earth is inhomogeneous, and possesses a tidal component. The free fall of an extended quantum mechanical object such as a hydrogen atom prepared in a high principal-quantum-number state, i.e. a circular Rydberg atom, is predicted to fall more slowly than a classical point-like object, when both objects are dropped from the same height above the Earth’s surface. This indicates that, apart from transitions between quantum states, the atom exhibits a kind of quantum mechanical incompressibility during free fall in inhomogeneous, tidal gravitational fields like those of the Earth.     

Approximate Real–Time Visualization of a Quantum Transition by Means of Continuous Fuzzy Measurement

For the detection of gravitational waves the quantum mechanical properties of the detector have to be taken into account. Not all gravitational wave detectors allow a quantum nondemolition (QND) measurement. Continuous weak or fuzzy measurements are an alternative to study the evolution of a quantum mechanical system under the influence of an external field. In the present paper we investigate this alternative by applying it to a simplified system. We numerically simulate continuous fuzzy measurements of the oscillations of a two-level atom subjected to a resonant external light field. We thereby address the question whether it is possible to measure characteristic features of the evolution of a single quantum system in real time without relying on a QND scheme. We compare two schemes of continuous measurement: continuous measurement with constant fuzziness and with fuzziness changing in the course of the measurement. Because the sensitivity of the two-level atom to the influence of the measurement depends on the state of the atom, it is possible to optimize the continuous fuzzy measurement by varying its fuzziness.     

Unified equation of motion of a test charge in electromagnetic and gravitational fields

This work starts by generalizing in a gravitational field the fundamental quantum mechanical commutation relations between the coordinates of a charged test particle and its momentum. Assuming that the components of the momentum of this test charge obey a noncommutative algebra in the presence of an electromagnetic field, it is proved that the commutator can be identified with the electromagnetic field tensor. Using these results, the equation of motion of this charged object in the presence of both the electromagnetic and gravitational fields is derived from their field equations. In this work, the laws of motion of a particle in the electromagnetic and gravitational fields has been unified with the field equations. Although the field equations themselves are not directly unified, this work strongly suggests that the scheme may act as a possible framework for the unification of at least gravitational and electromagnetic interactions.     

Gravitational Gauge Interactions of Scalar Field

Quantum gauge theory of gravity is formulated based on gauge principle. Because the Lagrangian has strict local gravitational gauge symmetry, gravitational gauge theory is a perturbatively renormalizable quantum theory. Gravitational gauge interactions of scalar field are studied in this paper. In quantum gauge theory of gravity, scalar field minimal couples to gravitational field through gravitational gauge covariant derivative. Comparing the Lagrangian for scalar field in quantum gauge theory of gravity with the corresponding Lagrangian in quantum fields in curved space-time, the definition for metric in curved space-time in geometry picture of gravity can be obtained, which is expressed by gravitational gauge field. In classical level, the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian approaches are also discussed.     

Gravitational Gauge Interactions of Scalar Field

Quantum gauge theory of gravity is formulated based on gauge principle. Because the Lagrangian hasstrict local gravitational gauge symmetry, gravitational gauge theory is a perturbatively renormalizable quantum theory.Gravitational gauge interactions of scalar field are studied in this paper. In quantum gauge theory of gravity, scalar fieldminimal couples to gravitational field through gravitational gauge covariant derivative. Comparing the Lagrangian forscalar field in quantum gauge theory of gravity with the corresponding Lagrangian in quantum fields in curved space-time, the definition for metric in curved space-time in geometry picture of gravity can be obtained, which is expressedby gravitational gauge field. In classical level, the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian approaches are also discussed.     

Detection of gravitational radiation using superconducting circuits

The influence of a non-stationary gravitational field on a superconducting circuit is studied. It is shown that the quantum mechanical quantization of magnetic flux in a superconducting circuit can be used to detect gravitational radiation, in principle. For two such devices, the change in the magnetic flux in one of the solenoids in each superconducting circuit, due to a gravitational wave, is computed.     

On a New Non-Geometric Element in Gravity

In this essay a generalized notion of flavor-oscillation clocks is introduced. The generalization contains the element that various superimposed mass eigenstates may have different relative orientation of the component of their spin with respect to the rotational axis of the gravitational source. It is found that these quantum mechanical clocks do not always redshift identically when moved from the gravitational environment of a non-rotating source to the field of a rotating source. The non-geometric contributions to the redshifts may be interpreted as quantum mechanically induced fluctuations over a geometric structure of space-time.     

Gravitational Shielding Effect in Gauge Theory of Gravity

In 1992, E.E. Podkletnov and R. Nieminen found that under certain conditions, ceramic superconductor with composite structure reveals weak shielding properties against gravitational force. In classical Newton's theory of gravity and even in Einstein's general theory of gravity, there are no grounds of gravitational shielding effects. But in quantum gauge theory of gravity, the gravitational shielding effects can be explained in a simple and natural way. In quantum gauge theory of gravity, gravitational gauge interactions of complex scalar field can be formulated based on gauge principle. After spontaneous symmetry breaking, if the vacuum of the complex scalar field is not stable and uniform, there will be a mass term of gravitational gauge field. When gravitational gauge field propagates in this unstable vacuum of the complex scalar field, it will decays exponentially, which is the nature of gravitational shielding effects. The mechanism of gravitational shielding effects is studied in this paper, and some main properties of gravitational shielding effects are discussed.     

Quantum phenomena in gravitational field

The subjects presented here are very different. Their common feature is that they all involve quantum phenomena in a gravitational field: gravitational quantum states of ultracold antihydrogen above a material surface and measuring a gravitational interaction of antihydrogen in AEGIS, a quantum trampoline for ultracold atoms, and a hypothesis on naturally occurring gravitational quantum states, an Eötvös-type experiment with cold neutrons and others. Considering them together, however, we could learn that they have many common points both in physics and in methodology.     

Gravitational Gauge Interactions of Dirac Field

Gravitational interactions of Dirac field are studied in this paper. Based on gauge principle, quantum gauge theory of gravity, which is perturbatively renormalizable, is formulated in the Minkowski space-time. In quantum gauge theory of gravity, gravity is treated as a kind of fundamental interactions, which is transmitted by gravitational gauge field, and Dirac field couples to gravitational field through gravitational gauge covariant derivative. Based on this theory, we can easily explain gravitational phase effect, which has already been detected by COW experiment.     

Quantum Gauge General Relativity

Based on gauge principle, a new model on quantum gravity is proposed in the frame work of quantum gauge theory of gravity. The model has local gravitational gauge symmetry, and the field equation of the gravitational gauge field is just the famous Einstein‘s field equation. Because of this reason, this model is called quantum gauge general relativity, which is the consistent unification of quantum theory and general relativity. The model proposed in this paper is a perturbatively renormalizable quantum gravity, which is one of the most important advantage of the quantum gauge general relativity proposed in this paper. Another important advantage of the quantum gauge general relativity is that it can explain both classical tests of gravity and quantum effects of gravitational interactions, such as gravitational phase effects found in COW experiments and gravitational shielding effects found in Podkletnov experiments.     

Ambiguity of the equivalence principle and Hawking's temperature

There are two inequivalent ways in which the laws of physics in a gravitational field can be related to the laws in an inertial frame, when quantum mechanical effects are taken into account. This leads to an ambiguity in the derivation of Hawking's radiation temperature for a black hole: it could be twice the value usually considered.     

Comprehensive solution to the cosmological constant,zero-point energy,and quantum gravity problems

We present a solution to the cosmological constant, the zero-point energy, and the quantum gravity problems within a single comprehensive framework. We show that in quantum theories of gravity in which the zero-point energy density of the gravitational field is well-defined, the cosmological constant and zero-point energy problems solve each other by mutual cancellation between the cosmological constant and the matter and gravitational field zero-point energy densities. Because of this cancellation, regulation of the matter field zero-point energy density is not needed, and thus does not cause any trace anomaly to arise. We exhibit our results in two theories of gravity that are well-defined quantum-mechanically. Both of these theories are locally conformal invariant, quantum Einstein gravity in two dimensions and Weyl-tensor-based quantum conformal gravity in four dimensions (a fourth-order derivative quantum theory of the type that Bender and Mannheim have recently shown to be ghost-free and unitary). Central to our approach is the requirement that any and all departures of the geometry from Minkowski are to be brought about by quantum mechanics alone. Consequently, there have to be no fundamental classical fields, and all mass scales have to be generated by dynamical condensates. In such a situation the trace of the matter field energy-momentum tensor is zero, a constraint that obliges its cosmological constant and zero-point contributions to cancel each other identically, no matter how large they might be. In our approach quantization of the gravitational field is caused by its coupling to quantized matter fields, with the gravitational field not needing any independent quantization of its own. With there being no a priori classical curvature, one does not have to make it compatible with quantization.     

Bound states of a gravitational soliton and a test particle

Classical and quantum bound states of a test particle in the regular gravitational field of a gravitational soliton are investigated. The quantum spectrum is very similar to that of a Newtonian atom, except for the absence ofs orbitals.     

A Universal Regulator?

By using the principle of metrical invariance which requires that all physical laws are independent of the choice of units (alternatively, all physical laws are invariant with respect to scale transformations of space-time coordinates) and Goldstone's theorem, a universal regulator is discovered. The cosmic field is the Yang-Mills field of the local scale transformations. Its physical role is as follows. Cosmon, its quantum, is a massless, spinless, and neutral particle. The cosmic field is created by inertial masses. Therefore it participates in all physical processes and if its presence is taken into account, then the quantum field theory is free from all ultraviolet infinities. From the point of view of Yang-Mills field theory, it is proved that the so-called gravitational masses are identical with inertial masses and the gravitational field is created by inertial masses moving non-inertially. This fact permits to solve satisfactorily the problem of energy-momentum complex of the gravitational field. The system of equations which defines simultaneously the cosmic and gravitational fields is established. A non-Einstein cosmology is outlined.     

Global and local horizon quantum mechanics

Horizons are classical causal structures that arise in systems with sharply defined energy and corresponding gravitational radius. A global gravitational radius operator can be introduced for a static and spherically symmetric quantum mechanical matter state by lifting the classical “Hamiltonian” constraint that relates the gravitational radius to the ADM mass, thus giving rise to a “horizon wave-function”. This minisuperspace-like formalism is shown here to be able to consistently describe also the local gravitational radius related to the Misner–Sharp mass function of the quantum source, provided its energy spectrum is determined by spatially localised modes.     

Difference of observability between classical electromagnetic and gravitational gauge fields

An analysis of the observability of the classical electromagnetic gauge field based in its quantum effects shows that this is physically determined up to equivalences. By contrast a similar analysis of the gravitational gauge field from Einstein's General Relativity theory shows that this field is univocally determined by the trajectories of material particles provided they feel only that gravitational field, and its proper gravitational and quantum effects are negligible. This difference of observability in both kinds of gauge fields is caused by the attachment of the gravitational field in the Einstein theory to the space-time, and this difference must be taken into account to formulate unified gauge theories with both kinds of fields.Based partly on the Ph.D. dissertation of M.A. submitted to Zaragoza University.With partial financial support of I. E. N. (Spain).     

On quantum radiation in curved spacetime

In the context of quantum field theories in curved spacetime, we compute the effective action of the transition amplitude from vacuum to vacuum in the presence of an external gravitational field. The imaginary part of the resulted effective action determines the probability of vacuum decay via a quantum tunneling process, giving the rate and spectrum of particle creations. We show that (i) the gravitational field polarizes the vacuum and discretizes its spectrum; (ii) vacuum gains gravitational energy by such a polarization. On the basis of gravitational vacuum polarization, we discuss the quantum origin of vacuum decay in curved spacetime as pair-creations of particles and anti-particles. The thermal spectrum of particle creations is attributed to (i) the CPT invariance of pair-creations (annihilations) from (into) vacuum and (ii) vacuum acts as a reserve with the temperature determined by gravitational energy-gain.