The Frame-Dragging effect on the excitation rate of atoms

TL;DR

This paper investigates how frame-dragging effects influence atomic excitation rates in curved spacetime, proposing a new method to measure frame-dragging frequencies using atomic excitation without relying on starlight calibration.

Contribution

It introduces a novel detection scheme for frame-dragging frequency based on atomic excitation rates in rotating gravitational fields, incorporating spacetime curvature effects into quantum field modes.

Findings

Excitation rates exhibit a common envelope revealing frame-dragging frequency.

Proposes a calibration-free method for measuring frame-dragging effects.

Quantizes scalar fields in rotating spacetime to analyze atomic interactions.

Abstract

The frame-dragging phenomenon in gravitational fields is revisited to explore the geometric effects induced by spacetime curvature. We quantize a massless scalar field in the spacetime of a rotating sphere, incorporating the frame-dragging frequency into the field modes. The excitation rate for an atom undergoing uniform circular motion and interacting with the scalar field is calculated. Our results reveal that the time-dependent excitation rates of atoms following different trajectories exhibit a common envelope, from which the frame-dragging frequency can be effectively extracted. This discovery leads us to propose a novel detection scheme for measuring the frame-dragging frequency caused by rotating celestial bodies, eliminating the need for traditional starlight calibration methods.