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.