Matter Waves In A Gravitational Field: An Index Of Refraction For Massive Particles In General Relativity
Evans, J C, Alsing, P M, Giorgetti, S +1 more
We consider the propagation of massive-particle de Broglie waves in a static, isotropic metric in General relativity. We demonstrate the existence of an index of refraction that governs the waves and that has all the properties of a classical index of refraction. We confirm our interpretation with a Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin solution of the general-relativistic Klein-Gordon equation. Finally, we make some observations on the significance of the optical action.
•Jan 1, 2001•18 citations