Gravitational and rotational effects in quantum interference

Abstract

The phase shift due to gravitation and rotation in the quantum interference of two coherent beams is obtained relativistically and compared with the recent experiment of Colella, Overhauser, and Werner. A general expression relating the quantum phase shift to the transverse acceleration of a classical particle in the plane of interference for an arbitrary interaction with any external field is given. This can serve as a correspondence principle between quantum physics and classical physics. The phase shift due to the coupling of spin to curvature of space-time is deduced and written explicitly for the special case of a Schwarzschild field. The last result implies that a massless spinning particle can have at most two helicity states and its world line in a gravitational field is a null geodesic. Finally, new experiments are proposed to test the effect of rotation on quantum interference and to obtain direct evidence of the equivalence principle in quantum mechanics.