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Australian Journal of Physics

An Experiment to Test the Gravitational Aharonov-Bohm Effect

Vu B Ho, Michael J Morgan

Published Jun 1, 1994• 26 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The gravitational Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect is examined in the weak-field approximation to general relativity. In analogy with the electromagnetic AB effect, we find that a gravitoelectromagnetic 4-vector potential gives rise to interference effects. A matter wave interferometry experiment, based on a modification of the gravity-induced quantum interference experiment of Colella, Overhauser and Werner (COW), is proposed to explicitly test the gravitoelectric version of the AB effect in a uniform gravitational field.

DOI
10.1071/ph940245

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The gravitational Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect is examined in the weak-field approximation to general relativity. In analogy with the electromagnetic AB effect, we find that a gravitoelectromagnetic 4-vector potential gives rise to interference effects. A matter wave interferometry experiment, based on a modification of the gravity-induced quantum interference experiment of Colella, Overhauser and Werner (COW), is proposed to explicitly test the gravitoelectric version of the AB effect in a uniform gravitational field.
We propose a feasible laboratory interferometry experiment with matter waves in a gravitational potential caused by a pair of artificial field-generating masses. It will demonstrate that the presence of these masses (and, for moving atoms, time dilation) induces a phase shift, even if it does not cause any classical force. The phase shift is identical to that produced by the gravitational redshift (or time dilation) of clocks ticking at the atom's Compton frequency. In analogy to the Aharonov-Bohm effect in electromagnetism, the quantum mechanical phase is a function of the gravitational potential and not the classical forces.
Abstract In this paper, we study the phenomenon of quantum interference in the presence of external gravitational fields described by alternative theories of gravity. We analyze both non-relativistic and relativistic effects induced by the underlying curved background on a superposed quantum system. In the non-relativistic regime, it is possible to come across a gravitational counterpart of the Bohm–Aharonov effect, which results in a phase shift proportional to the derivative of the modified Newtonian potential. On the other hand, beyond the Newtonian approximation, the relativistic nature of gravity plays a crucial rôle. Indeed, the existence of a gravitational time dilation between the two arms of the interferometer causes a loss of coherence that is in principle observable in quantum interference patterns. We work in the context of generalized quadratic theories of gravity to compare their physical predictions with the analogous outcomes in general relativity. In so doing, we show that the decoherence rate strongly depends on the gravitational model under investigation, which means that this approach turns out to be a promising test bench to probe and discriminate among all the extensions of Einstein’s theory in future experiments.
The Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect underscores the fundamental role of electromagnetic and gravitational potentials in quantum mechanics, even in regions where classical fields vanish.In this article, we summarize and expand on our recent work on the AB effect.We explore the gravitational AB effect as a generalization of gravitational redshift, considering a quantum system in orbit around a massive body.In this scenario, time-dependent gravitational potentials give rise to sidebands in the energy spectrum, which could be detected using precision atomic clocks aboard satellites.In parallel, we extend recent investigations of the electric-scalar AB effect.By using a balanced interferometric excitation scheme in a microwave cavity, on resonance, we achieve 25 dB suppression of the electromagnetic fieldwhile enhancing the time-varying scalar electric potential.This offers a promising platform to directly probe the electricscalar AB effect under conditions of a null electric field and a finite scalar potential.Also, it enables the realization of a resonant system exhibiting extreme dispersion.These complementary approaches provide new experimental pathways to test fundamental quantum effects in electromagnetic and gravitational potentials.
We propose a feasible laboratory interferometry experiment with matter waves in a gravitational potential caused by a pair of artificial field-generating masses. It will demonstrate that the presence of these masses (and, for moving atoms, time dilation) induces a phase shift, even if it does not cause any classical force. The phase shift is identical to that produced by the gravitational redshift (or time dilation) of clocks ticking at the atom’s Compton frequency. In analogy to the AharonovBohm effect in electromagnetism, the quantum mechanical phase is a function of the gravitational potential and not the classical forces.
Testing whether gravity is quantum or classical remains a cornerstone challenge in fundamental physics. We introduce a practical tabletop experiment to probe gravity's quantum nature via the gravitational Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect in atom interferometry. Our approach hinges on two pivotal insights: First, unlike electromagnetic AB effects where constant charge ensures gauge-invariant phases for closed paths, semiclassical gravity couples to the particle's total energy, rendering the AB phase gauge-dependent and unobservable when energies differ between paths due to environmental noise or controlled perturbations. Second, in quantum gravity—treating source, particle, and field as quantum—the total phase splits into a gauge-dependent particle contribution and a gauge-invariant source backreaction, yielding precisely half the nominal AB phase as observable. This halved phase discriminates quantum from classical gravity without requiring massive superpositions, aligning with existing technology. Remarkably, Overstreet et al.'s (Science 375, 226 (2022)) data already reveal a nonzero measured AB phase, providing the first experimental evidence for gravitational quantization.
We investigate the gravitational Aharonov-Bohm effect by placing a quantum system in free fall around a gravitating body, e.g., a satellite orbiting the Earth. Since the system is in free fall, by the equivalence principle, the quantum system is local in flat, gravity free space-time---it is screened from the gravitational field. For a slightly elliptical orbit, the gravitational potential will change with time. This leads to the energy levels of the quantum system developing sidebands which is the signature for this version of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. This contrasts with the normal signature of the Aharonov-Bohm effect of shifting of interference fringes.