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Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General

Relativistic kinematics of interferometry

G C Scorgie

Published Jul 7, 1993• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

By emphasizing a common kinematic core at the expense of the specific dynamics appropriate to individual configurations a unified view is obtained of a large part of the field of interferometry whether using photons or material particles. The only restriction on the coordinate system is that the metric tensor is independent of time. Within this framework a comparison is made of the main features of various types of interferometer, and the effect of dispersion is calculated for the type based on the ring laser oscillator. For a ring interferometer using material particles the particle proper time for a complete transit around the ring is shown to be the same for both directions of travel and a paradoxical consequence is noticed.

DOI
10.1088/0305-4470/26/13/031

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By emphasizing a common kinematic core at the expense of the specific dynamics appropriate to individual configurations a unified view is obtained of a large part of the field of interferometry whether using photons or material particles. The only restriction on the coordinate system is that the metric tensor is independent of time. Within this framework a comparison is made of the main features of various types of interferometer, and the effect of dispersion is calculated for the type based on the ring laser oscillator. For a ring interferometer using material particles the particle proper time for a complete transit around the ring is shown to be the same for both directions of travel and a paradoxical consequence is noticed.
In a previous paper, we showed that the Hamilton equations of motion of a quantum particle are obtained as group velocities of the wave packet describing this particle only if the time dependent phase of a particle wave is proportional to the Lagrangian, not to the Hamiltonian as in a solution of the conventional Schrodinger equation. When a Lagrangian of relativistic form is considered, the wave packet of a quantum particle takes a physical form, with a finite spectrum of a cut off velocity (c). Based on a relativistic quantum principle, asserting the invariance of the time dependent phase for an arbitrary change of coordinates, we obtained the relativistic kinematics and dynamics, the electromagnetic field equations, the spin and the electromagnetic and gravitational interactions. When the Lagrangian is considered as a function of the Hamiltonian, we obtain a Schrodinger type equation with an additional term depending on the velocity and the momentum operator. 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On the other hand, one could find that the simplest way to define a quantum particle is by a wave packet, with momenta conjugated to coordinates and energy conjugated to time Consider a quantum particle as a wave packet, and find that the group velocities in the coordinate and momentum spaces are in agreement with the Hamilton equations only when the Lagrangian is considered in the time dependent phases, instead of the Hamiltonian in the conventional forms of these waves as solutions of the Schrodinger equation. We define a relativistic quantum principle, and derive a wave equation for a relativistic quantum particle, the relativistic kinematics and dynamics of the particle waves, the Maxwell equations and the Lorentz force of a field interacting with the particle waves, the relativistic transform of such a field, and the spin as a characteristic of the particle waves. We consider a quantum particle as a distribution of conservative matter propagating according to the General Theory of Relativity. We obtain the dynamics of this matter in a gravitational field, the propagation in plane waves perpendicular to geodesic tracks, and equations of conservation. We describe the matter dynamics as a positively defined density and show that, according to the general theory of relativity, such a distribution can be conceive only as of a fragment of matter with a finite mass equal to a mass , as a characteristic of the matter dynamics, – the matter quantization. The group velocities of the Fourier conjugate representations in the coordinate and momentum spaces describe the dynamics of a quantum particle in agreement with the Hamiltonian equations. Under the action of an external (non-gravitational) field, the acceleration of the quantum matter has two components: 1) A component perpendicular to the velocity, given by the relativistic mechanical component of the time dependent phase, and 2) A component given by the additional field terms of this phase. A free quantum particle is described by a non-dispersing wave function , contrary to the solution of the Schrodinger equation. A coherent electromagnetic field, in resonance with a system of active quantum particles in a Fabry-Perot cavity, has a wave vector approximately proportional to the metric elements, as the resonance frequency is approximately constant – a gravitational wave can be detected by the transmission characteristics of an active Fabry-Perot cavity. In a constant gravitational field, a quantum particle undertakes a velocity and an acceleration, which, at the boundary of a black hole are null – absorption and evaporation processes at the boundary of a black hole arise only by gravitational perturbations. Generally, a quantum particle is described by a time-space volume, called graviton, with a spin 2, and a distribution of a specific matter in this volume, with a half-integer spin for Fermions and an integer spin for Bosons. A graviton Lagrangian is obtained as a curvature integral on a graviton volume, and a Hamiltonian tensor is obtained for the gravitational coordinates and velocities. In a gravitational field, the time space coordinates are deformed. In such a field, any plane wave remains perpendicular geodesic, while an additional acceleration is possible in the wave plane.
The phase of matter waves depends on proper time and is therefore susceptible to special-relativistic (kinematic) and gravitational (redshift) time dilation. Hence, it is conceivable that atom interferometers measure general-relativistic time-dilation effects. In contrast to this intuition, we show that (i) closed light-pulse interferometers without clock transitions during the pulse sequence are not sensitive to gravitational time dilation in a linear potential. (ii) They can constitute a quantum version of the special-relativistic twin paradox. (iii) Our proposed experimental geometry for a quantum-clock interferometer isolates this effect.
The phase of matter waves depends on proper time and is therefore susceptible to special-relativistic (kinematic) and gravitational (redshift) time dilation. Hence, it is conceivable that atom interferometers measure general-relativistic time-dilation effects. In contrast to this intuition, we show that (i) closed light-pulse interferometers without clock transitions during the pulse sequence are not sensitive to gravitational time dilation in a linear potential. (ii) They can constitute a quantum version of the special-relativistic twin paradox. (iii) Our proposed experimental geometry for a quantum-clock interferometer isolates this effect.
This contribution is an update of a previous presentation of 5D matter- wave optics and interferometry with a correction of some algebraic errors. Electromagnetic interactions are explicitly added in the 5D metric tensor in complete analogy with Kaluza's work. The 5D Lagrangian is rederived and an expression for the Hamiltonian suitable for the parabolic approximation is presented. The corresponding equations of motion are also given. The 5D action is shown to cancel for the actual trajectory which is a null geodesics of the 5D metric. This presentation is mainly devoted to the classical aspects of the theory and only general consequences for the quantum phase of matter-waves are outlined. The application to Bordé- Ramsey interferometers is given as an illustration.
We consider a quantum particle as a wave packet in the coordinate space. When the conjugate wave packet in the momentum space is considered, we find that the group velocities of these two wave packets, which describe the particle dynamics, are in agreement with the Hamilton equations only if in the time dependent phases one considers the Lagrangian instead of the Hamiltonian which leads to the conventional Schrodinger equation. We define a relativistic quantum principle asserting that a quantum particle has a finite frequency spectrum, with a cutoff propagation velocity c as a universal constant not depending on the coordinate system, and that any time dependent phase variation is the same in any system of coordinates. From the time dependent phase invariance, the relativistic kinematics is obtained. We consider two types of possible interactions: 1) An interaction with an external field, by a modification of the time dependent phase differential with the terms proportional to the differentials of the space-time coordinates multiplied with the components of this field four-potential, and 2) an interaction by a deformation of the space-time coordinates, due to a gravitational field. From the invariance of the time dependent phase with field components, we obtain a mechanical force of the form of Lorentz’s force, and three Maxwell equations: The Gauss-Maxwell equations for the electric and magnetic fluxes, and the Faraday-Maxwell equation for the electromagnetic induction. When the fourth equation, Ampere-Maxwell, is considered, the interaction field takes the form of the electromagnetic field. For a low propagation velocity of the particle waves, we get a packet of waves with the time dependent phases proportional to the relativistic Hamiltonian, as in Dirac’s famous theory of spin, and a slowly-varying amplitude with a phase proportional to the momentum and this velocity. In the framework of our theory, the spin is obtained as an all quantum effect, without any additional assumption to the quantum theory. When a space-time deformation is considered in the time dependent phase of a quantum particle, from the group velocity we get the particle dynamics according to the general theory of relativity. In this way, the relativistic dynamics, the electromagnetic field, and the spin of a quantum particle are obtained only from the invariance of the time dependent phases of the particle wave functions.