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Post-Newtonian gravitational effects in optical interferometry

2015; American Physical Society; Volume: 91; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1103/physrevd.91.064041

1550-7998

Aharon Brodutch, Alexei Gilchrist, Thomas Guff, Alexander R. H. Smith, Daniel R. Terno,

Cosmology and Gravitation Theories

We investigate general properties of optical interferometry in stationary spacetimes and apply the obtained results focusing on quantum-optical experiments in near-Earth environments. We provide a rigorous expression for the {gravitationally induced} phase difference and adapt the parametrized post-Newtonian formalism for calculations of polarization rotation. We investigate two optical versions of the Colella-Overhauser-Werner experiment and show that the phase difference is independent of the post-Newtonian parameter $\gamma$, making it a possible candidate for an optical test of the Einstein equivalence principle. Polarization rotation provides an example of the quantum clock variable, and while related to the optical Lense-Thirring effects, shows a qualitatively different behaviour.