text:
# Gravitational Effects Associated With Gravitomagnetic Fields

## Abstract

Several relativistic quantum gravitational effects such as spin-rotation coupling, gravitomagnetic charge and gravitational Meissner effect are investigated in the present letter. The field equation of gravitomagnetic matter is suggested and a static spherically symmetric solution of this equation is offered. With foreseeable improvements in detecting and measuring technology, it is possible for us to investigate quantum mechanics in weak-gravitational fields. The potential implications of these gravitational effects (or phenomena) to some problems are briefly discussed.

It is readily verified that the field equation of general relativity in low-motion weak-field approximation is somewhat analogous to Maxwell,s equation of electromagnetic field. The most outstanding point is that the former field (gravitational field) possesses both the gravitoelectric potential written as $`\frac{g_{00}1}{2}`$ and the gravitomagnetic potentials as $`\stackrel{}{A}=(g_{01},g_{02},g_{03}),`$ and the corresponding gravitomagnetic field strength is of the form $`\stackrel{}{B}=\frac{1}{2}\times \stackrel{}{A}`$. This similarity leads us to consider the following interesting gravitational analogues of electromagnetic phenomena: (1) In electrodynamics a charged particle is acted upon by the Lorentz magnetic force, in the similar fashion, a particle is also acted upon by the gravitational Lorentz force in weak-gravity theory . According to the principle of equivalence, further analysis shows that in the non-inertial rotating reference frame, this gravitational Lorentz force is just the fictitious Coriolis force; (2) There exists Aharonov-Bohm effect in electrodynamics, accordingly, the so-called gravitational Aharonov-Bohm effect, the gravitational analogue of Aharonov-Bohm effect also exists in the theory of gravitation, which is now termed Aharonov-Carmi effect; (3) A particle with intrinsic spin possesses a gravitomagnetic moment of such magnitude that it equals the spin of this particle. The interaction of spinning gravitomagnetic moment with the gravitomagnetic field is called spin-gravity coupling, which is similar to the interaction between spinning magnetic moment and magnetic field in electrodynamics. For the present, it is possible to investigate quantum mechanics in weak-gravitational fields, with the development of detecting and measuring technology, particularly laser-interferometer technology, low-temperature technology, electronic technology and so on. These investigations enable physicists to test validity or universality of fundamental laws and principles of general relativity. In this letter, the author proposes and discusses several physically interesting effects associated with gravitomagnetic fields such as (1) the geometric phase factor in the time-dependent spin-rotation coupling, (2) gravitomagnetic charge (dual mass), (3) the motion of photon in a gravitomagnetic field and some other effects, for instance, gravitational Meissner effect which may lead to significant consequences in astrophysics and cosmology.

In the rotating reference frame, a particle was acted on by the inertial centrifugal force and Coriolis force $`2m\stackrel{}{v}\times \stackrel{}{\omega }`$, which are respectively in analogy with the electric force and Lorentz magnetic force $`q\stackrel{}{v}\times \stackrel{}{B}`$ in electrodynamics, where $`\stackrel{}{\omega }`$ and $`\stackrel{}{B}`$ denote rotating the frequency of rotating frame and the magnetic field strength, respectively. It follows from this comparison between Coriolis force and Lorentz force that $`\stackrel{}{\omega }`$ is believed to be regarded as the gravitomagnetic field in the rotating frame. One can easily obtain the Lagrangian, $`L`$ and Hamiltonian, $`H`$ of the particle in the rotating frame , i.e.,

$`L`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}mv^2m\varphi +2m\stackrel{}{v}\stackrel{}{a},`$ (1)
$`H`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2m}}(\stackrel{}{p}2m\stackrel{}{a})^2+m\varphi ,`$ ()
where the canonical momentum $`\stackrel{}{p}=m\stackrel{}{v}+2m\stackrel{}{a},`$ and gravitomagnetic vector potential $`\stackrel{}{a}`$ is so defined that $`\times \stackrel{}{a}=\stackrel{}{\omega }.`$ Aharonov and Carmi showed that a geometric quantum phase factor which is given as (in the unit $`\mathrm{}=1`$)

$$\mathrm{\Delta }\theta =2m_{abcda}\stackrel{}{a}𝑑\stackrel{}{l}=2m\stackrel{}{\omega }\stackrel{}{A}$$
(2)
would arise in the wave function of a particle moving along a closed path $`abcda`$ surrounding a gravitomagnetic flux, $`\stackrel{}{\omega },`$ where $`\stackrel{}{A}`$ represents the area vector that is surrounded by the path $`abcda`$. Overhauser, Colella , Werner and Standenmann et al. have proved the existence of the Aharonov-Carmi effect by means of the neutron-gravity interferometry experiment. Further calculation shows that when the Kerr metric is transformed from the fixing reference frame to the rotating frame, the gravitomagnetic potentials can be written as (in the spherical coordinate system)

$$a_\phi =\frac{aGM\mathrm{sin}\theta }{cr^2}+\omega r\mathrm{sin}\theta ,a_r=0,a_\theta =0.$$
(3)
It follows that the first term $`\frac{aGM\mathrm{sin}\theta }{cr^2}`$ on the right handed side of Eq. (3) is exactly analogous to the magnetic potential $`\frac{\mu _0}{4\pi }\frac{ea}{r^2}\mathrm{sin}\theta `$ of the rotating charged spherical shell in electrodynamics. Then we can calculate the exterior gravitomagnetic strength of the rotating gravitating spherically symmetric body, and the result is $`\stackrel{}{B}_g=\frac{2G}{c}(\frac{\stackrel{}{a}}{r^3}\frac{3(\stackrel{}{a}\stackrel{}{r})\stackrel{}{r}}{r^5})\text{[7]}.`$ The second term of $`a_\phi `$ yields the gravitomagnetic field, $`\stackrel{}{\omega }`$ which is independent of the Newtonian gravitational constant $`G.`$

In the following we will derive the Hamiltonian of spin-rotation coupling by investigate the Dirac equation with spin connection

$$[i\gamma ^\mu (_\mu \frac{i}{4}\sigma ^{\lambda \tau }\omega _{\lambda \tau \mu })mc]\psi =0$$
(4)
with $`\sigma ^{\lambda \tau }=\frac{i}{2}(\gamma ^\lambda \gamma ^\tau \gamma ^\tau \gamma ^\lambda ).`$ In the rotating frame, we have the following form of the line element of spacetime

$$ds^2=(1\frac{\omega ^2}{c^2}\stackrel{}{x}\stackrel{}{x})c^2dt^2d\stackrel{}{x}d\stackrel{}{x}2(\stackrel{}{\omega }\times \stackrel{}{x})d\stackrel{}{x}dt$$
(5)
by ignoring the gravitational effect associated with the gravitational constant $`G`$ and utilizing the weak-field low-motion approximation. Then further calculation yields the following connections

$`\omega _{\lambda \tau 0}`$ $`=`$ $`ϵ_{\lambda \tau \eta }{\displaystyle \frac{\omega ^\eta }{c}},\omega _{0\tau 0}=\omega _{\tau 00}=0,`$ (6)
$`\omega _{\lambda \tau \mu }`$ $`=`$ $`0(\mu =1,2,3)`$ ()
with $`ϵ_{\lambda \tau \eta }`$ being three-dimensional Levi-Civita tensor. By making use of Eq. (4), Eq. (5) and Eq. (()Gravitational Effects Associated With Gravitomagnetic Fields), one can arrive at the following Dirac equation

$$i\frac{}{t}\psi =H\psi $$
(7)
with

$$H=\beta mc^2+c\stackrel{}{p}+\stackrel{}{\omega }\stackrel{}{L}+\stackrel{}{\omega }\stackrel{}{S}.$$
(8)
We thus obtain the Hamiltonian of spin-rotation coupling

$$H_{sr}=\stackrel{}{\omega }\stackrel{}{S}$$
(9)
which is consistent with Mashhoon,s result which is obtained by analyzing the Doppler,s effect of wavelight in the rotating frame with respect to the fixing frame .

It is well known that geometric phase appears in systems whose Hamiltonian is time-dependent or possessing evolution parameters. Apparently, the geometric phase in the Aharonov-Carmi effect results from the presence of the evolution parameter in the Hamiltonian. Here we suggest another geometric effect that exist in the spin-rotation coupling where the rotating frequency, $`\stackrel{}{\omega }`$ of the rotating frame is time-dependent. By making use of the Lewis-Riesenfeld invariant theory and the invariant-related unitary transformation formulation, one can arrive at

$$\mathrm{\Delta }\theta =\pm \frac{1}{2}_0^t\dot{\gamma }(t^{^{}})[1\mathrm{cos}\lambda (t^{^{}})]𝑑t^{^{}}$$
(10)
which is the expression for the geometric phase of a particle with spin-$`\frac{1}{2},`$ e.g., a neutron in the time-dependent rotating frame, where $`\gamma `$ and $`\lambda `$ stand for the angle displacements in the parameter space of the invariant whose eigenvalue is time-independent, and dot denotes the rate of change of $`\gamma `$ with respect to $`t`$. For the case of adiabatic process where $`\lambda `$ does not explicitly involve time, $`t,`$ Eq. (10) is reduced to

$$\mathrm{\Delta }\theta =\pm \frac{1}{2}2\pi (1\mathrm{cos}\lambda )$$
(11)
in one cycle over the parameter space. It follows from Eq. (11) that $`2\pi (1\mathrm{cos}\lambda )`$ is the expression for the solid angle which presents the geometric properties of time evolution of this spin-rotation coupling system. Differing from the dynamical phase which is related to the energy, frequency or velocity of a particle or a quantum system, geometric phase is dependent only on the geometric nature of the pathway along which the system evolves. This property reflects the global and topological properties of evolution of the quantum systems.

Another topological property of gravitation is the gravitational analogue of Dirac monopole in electrodynamics. By using variational principle, we can obtain the following equation

$$\delta _\mathrm{\Omega }\sqrt{g}\stackrel{~}{R}𝑑\mathrm{\Omega }=_\mathrm{\Omega }\sqrt{g}\stackrel{~}{G}_{\mu \nu }\delta g^{\mu \nu }𝑑\mathrm{\Omega }$$
(12)
with

$$\stackrel{~}{R}=g^{\sigma \tau }\stackrel{~}{R}_{\sigma \tau },\stackrel{~}{R}_{\sigma \tau }=g^{\mu \delta }(ϵ_{\mu \upsilon }^{\alpha \beta }R_{\gamma \delta \alpha \beta }+ϵ_{\gamma \delta }^{\alpha \beta }R_{\mu \upsilon \alpha \beta })$$
(13)
and

$$\stackrel{~}{G}_{\mu \nu }=ϵ_\mu ^{\lambda \sigma \tau }R_{\nu \lambda \sigma \tau }ϵ_\nu ^{\lambda \sigma \tau }R_{\mu \lambda \sigma \tau },$$
(14)
where $`ϵ_\mu ^{\lambda \sigma \tau }`$ is the completely antisymmetric Levi-Civita tensor, and the scalar $`\stackrel{~}{R}`$ is assumed to be the Lagrangian density of the interaction of metric fields with gravitomagnetic matter. Since $`\stackrel{~}{G}_{\mu \nu }`$ is an antisymmetric tensor, we construct the following antisymmetric tensor for the Fermi field

$$K_{\mu \nu }=i\overline{\psi }(\gamma _\mu _\nu \gamma _\upsilon _\mu )\psi ,H_{\mu \nu }=ϵ_{\mu \nu }^{\alpha \beta }K_{\alpha \beta }$$
(15)
and regard them as the source tensors in the field equation of gravitomagnetic charge, where $`\gamma _\mu ^^,`$s are general Dirac matrices with respect to $`x^\mu `$ and satisfy $`\gamma _\mu \gamma _v+\gamma _\nu \gamma _\mu =2g_{\mu \nu }.`$ Then the field equation governing the gravitational distributions of gravitomagnetic charge may be given as follows

$$\stackrel{~}{G}_{\mu \nu }=\kappa _1K_{\mu \nu }+\kappa _2H_{\mu \nu }$$
(16)
with $`\kappa _1,\kappa _2`$ being the coupling coefficients between gravitomagnetic matter and gravity. It should be noted that $`\stackrel{~}{G}_{\mu \nu }0`$ in the absence of gravitomagnetic matter since no singularities associated with topological charge exist in the metric functions and therefore Ricci identity still holds. However, once the metric functions possess non-analytic properties in the presence of gravitomagnetic matter (should such exist), $`\stackrel{~}{G}_{\mu \nu }`$ is no longer vanishing due to the violation of Ricci identity. Additionally, further investigation shows that the cosmological term of Fermi field in Eq. (16) can be written as the linear combination of the antisymmetric tensors $`i\overline{\psi }(\gamma _\mu \gamma _\nu \gamma _\upsilon \gamma _\mu )\psi `$ and $`iϵ_{\mu \nu }^{\alpha \beta }\overline{\psi }(\gamma _\alpha \gamma _\beta \gamma _\beta \gamma _\alpha )\psi `$.

It is verified that Eq. (16) in the low-motion weak-field approximation is of the form

$$\times (g^{00}\frac{}{x^0}\stackrel{}{g})=\frac{}{x^0}(\times \stackrel{}{g})+\stackrel{}{S}$$
(17)
with gravitomagnetic vector potentials $`\stackrel{}{g}=(g^{01},g^{02},g^{03}),`$ and source-current density, $`\stackrel{}{S}`$ of gravitomagnetic charge being $`\kappa _1K^{0i}+\kappa _2H^{0i}`$ $`(i=1,2,3).`$ It is apparently seen that Eq. (17) is exactly analogous to the Faraday$`^^,`$s law of electromagnetic induction in the presence of current density of magnetic monopole in electrodynamics. This, therefore, implies that Eq. (16) is indeed the field equation of gravitation of gravitomagnetic matter.

Assume that a point-like gravitomagnetic charge is fixed at the origin of the spherical coordinate system. A static spherically symmetric solution is exactly obtained by the author and is given (via linear element) as follows

$`ds^2`$ $`=`$ $`(dx^0)^2dr^2r^2(d\theta ^2+\mathrm{sin}^2\theta d\phi ^2)+2g_{0\phi }dx^0d\phi ,`$ (18)
$`2g_{0\phi }dx^0d\phi `$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{2c}{4\pi }}{\displaystyle \frac{1\pm \mathrm{cos}\theta }{r\mathrm{sin}\theta }}r\mathrm{sin}\theta dx^0d\phi ,`$ ()
where $`c`$ is defined to be determined by the metric functions of the origin of the spherical coordinate system, i.e., $`c=M(\frac{\sqrt{g}}{g^{00}})_{origin},`$ and $`M`$ is the parameter associated with gravitomagnetic charge and coupling coefficients. Further calculation yields

$$\left(g^{\mu \nu }\right)=\left(\begin{array}{cccc}\frac{r^2\mathrm{sin}^2\theta }{r^2\mathrm{sin}^2\theta +g_{0\phi }^2}& 0& 0& \frac{g_{0\phi }}{r^2\mathrm{sin}^2\theta +g_{0\phi }^2}\\ 0& 1& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& r^2& 0\\ \frac{g_{0\phi }}{r^2\mathrm{sin}^2\theta +g_{0\phi }^2}& 0& 0& \frac{1}{r^2\mathrm{sin}^2\theta +g_{0\phi }^2}\end{array}\right)$$
(19)
which is the inverse matrix of the metric $`\left(g_{\mu \nu }\right)`$ and we thus obtain the contravariant metric $`g^{\mu \nu }.`$

From what has been discussed above, similar to the magnetic charge in electrodynamics, gravitomagnetic charge is a kind of topological charge which is the duality of mass of matter. In this sense, gravitomagnetic charge is also called dual mass. From the point of view of the classical field equation, matter may be classified into two categories: gravitomagnetic matter and gravitoelectric matter, of which the field equation of the latter is Einstein,s equation of general relativity. Due to their different gravitational features, the concept of mass is of no significance for the gravitomagnetic matter. It is also of interest to investigate the relativistic dynamics of dual mass.

It is worthwhile to consider the motion of photon in gravitomagnetic fields. Take into account a weak gravitomagnetic fields where the adiabatic approximation can be applicable to the motion of a photon. Then a conclusion can be drawn that the eigenvalue of the helicity $`\frac{\stackrel{}{k}(t)}{k}\stackrel{}{J}`$ of the photon is conserved in motion and its helicity operator $`\frac{\stackrel{}{k}(t)}{k}\stackrel{}{J}`$ is an invariant in terms of the invariant equation in Lewis-Riesenfeld theory

$$\frac{I(t)}{t}+\frac{1}{i}[I(t),H(t)]=0,$$
(20)
where the invariant $`I(t)=\frac{\stackrel{}{k}(t)}{k}\stackrel{}{J}.`$ From Eq. (20), simple calculation yields

$$H(t)=\frac{\stackrel{}{k}\times \frac{d}{dt}\stackrel{}{k}}{k^2}\stackrel{}{J}$$
(21)
which is considered an effective Hamiltonian governing the motion of photon in gravitomagnetic fields. Hence, the equation of motion of a photon in gravitomagnetic fields is written

$$\frac{\stackrel{}{k}\times \frac{d}{dt}\stackrel{}{k}}{k^2}=\stackrel{}{B}_g,$$
(22)
where the gravitomagnetic field strength $`\stackrel{}{B}_g`$ is determined by field equations of gravitation such as Eq. (16) and Einstein,s equation of general relativity. It follows from the geodesic equation under weak-field approximation that the acceleration due to gravitational Lorentz force is

$$\frac{1}{k}\frac{d}{dt}\stackrel{}{k}=\frac{\stackrel{}{k}}{k}\times (\times \stackrel{}{g})$$
(23)
with $`\frac{\stackrel{}{k}}{k}`$ being the velocity vector of the photon, and the gravitomagnetic field strength is $`\stackrel{}{B}_g=\times \stackrel{}{g},`$ where $`\stackrel{}{g}=(g^{01},g^{02},g^{03}).`$ Substitution of Eq. (22) into Eq. (23) yields

$$\frac{1}{k}\frac{d}{dt}\stackrel{}{k}=\frac{\stackrel{}{k}}{k}\times \left(\frac{\stackrel{}{k}\times \frac{d}{dt}\stackrel{}{k}}{k^2}\right).$$
(24)
Since

$$\stackrel{}{k}\stackrel{}{k}=k^2,\stackrel{}{k}\frac{d}{dt}\stackrel{}{k}=0,$$
(25)
Eq. (24) is an identity. This, therefore, implies that Eq. (22) is the equation of motion of a photon in gravitomagnetic field.

Note that when observed from the rotating reference frame, the gravitomagnetic field $`\times \stackrel{}{g}`$ contains the rotating frequency, $`\stackrel{}{\omega }`$ (see, for instance, Eq. (3)). For the reason of that $`\stackrel{}{\omega }`$ is an effective gravitomagnetic field that is independent of Newtonian gravitational constant, the fact that $`\stackrel{}{\omega }`$ is involved in $`\times \stackrel{}{g}`$ results in both the Aharonov-Carmi effect and spin-rotation coupling.

What we have discussed above are some geometric or topological features which relate to gravitomagnetic fields. In what follows the author will briefly discuss several other physically interesting problems. They are illustrated as follows:

(1) The geometric phase expressed by Eq. (10) is believed to be a potential application to the Earth$`^^,`$s time-dependent rotating frequency. The variation of the Earth,s rotating frequency may be caused by the motion of interior matter, tidal force, and the motion of atmosphere as well. Once we have information concerning the Earth,s rotating frequency, it is possible to investigate the motion of matter on the Earth. By measuring the geometric phase difference of spin polarized vertically down and up in the neutron-gravity interferometry experiment, utilization of Eq. (10) may enable us to obtain the information concerning the variation of the Earth$`^^,`$s rotation.

(2) The gravitational analogue of Meissner effect in superconductivity is gravitational Meissner effect. Due to the conservation of momentum, mass-current density is conserved around the scattering of particles in perfect fluid, which is analogous to the superconductivity of superconducting electrons in superconductors cooled below $`T_c.`$ Since gravitational field equation under linear approximation is similar to the Maxwell equation in electrodynamics, one can predict that gravitational Meissner effect arises in perfect fluid. The author think that the investigation of both the effect of gravitomagnetic matter and gravitational Meissner effect may provide us with a valuable insight into the problem of cosmological constant and vacuum gravity. Some related topics such as gravitational Hall effect and gravitational magnetohydrodynamics may be considered for further investigation.

(3) Taking the effects of gravitomagnetic charge into consideration is believed to be of essential significance in resolving some problems and paradoxes. An illustrative example that has been briefly discussed is its application to the problem of cosmological constant. Additionally, in 1998, Anderson et al reported that, by ruling out a number of potential causes, radio metric data from the Pioneer 10/11, Galileo and Ulysses spacecraft indicate an apparent anomalous, constant, acceleration acting on the spacecraft with a magnitude $`8.5\times `$ $`10^8`$cm/s2 directed towards the Sun. Is it the effects of dark matter or a modification of gravity? Unfortunately, neither easily works. By taking the cosmic mass, $`M=10^{53}`$ kg and cosmic scale, $`R=10^{26}`$ m, calculation shows that this acceleration is just equal to the value of field strength on the cosmic boundary due to the total cosmic mass. This fact leads us to consider a theoretical mechanism to interpret this anomalous phenomenon. The author favor that the gravitational Meissner effect may serve as a possible interpretation. Here we give a rough analysis which contains only the most important features rather than the precise details of this theoretical explanation. Once gravitomagnetic matter exists in the universe, parallel to London,s electrodynamics of superconductivity, it shows that gravitational field may give rise to an effective mass $`m_g=\frac{\mathrm{}}{c^2}\sqrt{8\pi G\rho _m}`$ due to the self-induced charge current , where $`\rho _m`$ is the mass density of the universe. Then one can obtain that $`\frac{\mathrm{}}{m_gc}10^{26}`$m which approximately equals $`R`$, where the mass density of the universe is taken to be $`\rho _m=0.3\rho _c`$ with $`\rho _c2\times 10^{26}`$kg/m3 being the critical mass density. An added constant acceleration, $`a`$ may result from the Yukawa potential and can be written as

$$a=\frac{GM}{2}\left(\frac{m_gc}{\mathrm{}}\right)^2\frac{GM}{R^2}.$$
(26)
Note, however, that it is an acceleration of repulsive force directed, roughly speaking, from the centre of the universe. By analyzing the NASA,s Viking ranging data, Anderson, Laing, Lau et al concluded that the anomalous acceleration does not act on the body of large mass such as the Earth and Mars. If gravitational Meissner effect only affected the gravitating body of large mass or large scale rather than spacecraft (perhaps the reason lies in that small-mass flow cannot serve as self-induced charge current, which deserves to be further investigated), then seen from the Sun or Earth, there exists an added attractive force acting on the spacecraft. This added force give rise to an anomalous, constant, acceleration directed towards the Sun or Earth.

In summary, in the present paper the author investigates the geometric phase that results from the time-dependent spin-rotation coupling, and the field equation of gravitomagnetic matter as well as its static spherically symmetric solution. Differing from the symmetric property (with respect to the indices of tensors) of gravitational field equation of gravitoelectric matter, the field equation of gravitomagnetic matter possesses the antisymmetric property. This, therefore, implies that the number of the non-analytic metric functions is no more than 6. Although we have no observational evidences for the existence of gravitomagnetic charge, it is still of essential significance to investigate the gravity theory of the topological dual mass.

Some physically interesting problems associated with gravitomagnetic fields are proposed, of which the most intereting investigation is the potential solution to the anomalous acceleration acting on Pioneer spacecrafts by means of the mechanism of gravitational Meissner effect. The theoretic resolution of this problem is not very definite at present, for it cannot account for the fact that the gravitational Meissner effect does not explicitly affect the body of small mass. This curiosity deserves further consideration.

Since with foreseeable improvements in detecting and measuring technology, it is possible for us to investigate quantum mechanics in weak-gravitational fields, the above effects and phenomena deserve further detailed investigations. Work in this direction is under consideration and will be published elsewhere.

Acknowledgments This project is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under the project No.$`30000034`$.