General Relativistic Effects on Quantum Interference and the Principle of Equivalence

TL;DR

This paper investigates how general relativity influences quantum interference of de Broglie waves, deriving a unified formula and exploring gravitational effects on quantum fringes, which relate to the equivalence principle at the quantum scale.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to quantify general relativistic effects on quantum interference and derives a unified formula consistent with special relativity, including gravitational analogs of known quantum effects.

Findings

Derived a general relativistic formula for quantum interference effects.

Identified gravitational corrections to quantum fringe shifts.

Linked quantum interference measurements to the validity of the equivalence principle.

Abstract

Using a novel approach, we work out the general relativistic effects on the quantum interference of de Broglie waves associated with thermal neutrons. The unified general formula is consistent with special relativistic results in the flat space limit. It is also shown that the exact geodesic equation contains in a natural way a gravitational analog of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. We work out two examples, one in general relativity and the other in heterotic string theory, in order to obtain the first order gravitational correction terms to the quantum fringe shift. Measurement of these terms is closely related to the validity of the equivalence principle at a quantum level.