GENERAL RELATIVISTIC EFFECTS OF HYDROGENIC SYSTEMS
Abstract
The parametrized post-Newtonian formalism is used to derive an interaction for a fermion in a gravitational field by two distinct methods. We discover the usual leading order terms and then focus our attention on effects due to the gravitational field gradient over the atom. As hydrogen is a two-particle system, it is necessary to separate the one-particle interactions as they couple to the relative and center-of-mass motions before deriving a transition Hamiltonian. This problem is approached by several methods, none of which seems fully adequate. A review of this literature is presented, summarizing shortcomings of these methods and implications for the Equivalence Principle. This appears to be the first application of these ideas to problems in quantum gravity. Possible experimental formats are discussed, with numerical expectations and possible techniques to enhance the desired signal. Competing environments in both terrestrial and astrophysical applications are discussed. Though such experiments will be difficult, they would probe a heretofore untested area of physics: those phenomena of post-Newtonian gravity that occur in the quantum domain.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Physics
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