6533b7d9fe1ef96bd126cefc
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Gravity Probe Spin: Prospects for measuring general-relativistic precession of intrinsic spin using a ferromagnetic gyroscope
Dmitry BudkerDmitry BudkerYehuda B. BandPeter W. GrahamTao WangAlexander O. SushkovPavel FadeevDerek F. Jackson Kimballsubject
Angular momentumGeneral relativityFOS: Physical sciencesElectronFrame-draggingGeneral Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)01 natural sciences7. Clean energyGeneral Relativity and Quantum Cosmologylaw.inventionPhysics::Geophysicslaw0103 physical sciencesddc:530010306 general physicsSpin (physics)Geodetic effectPhysicsQuantum Physics010308 nuclear & particles physicsGyroscopeQuantum electrodynamicsPhysics::Space PhysicsPrecessionCondensed Matter::Strongly Correlated ElectronsQuantum Physics (quant-ph)description
An experimental test at the intersection of quantum physics and general relativity is proposed: measurement of relativistic frame dragging and geodetic precession using intrinsic spin of electrons. The behavior of intrinsic spin in spacetime dragged and warped by a massive rotating body is an experimentally open question, hence the results of such a measurement could have important theoretical consequences. Such a measurement is possible by using mm-scale ferromagnetic gyroscopes in orbit around the Earth. Under conditions where the rotational angular momentum of a ferromagnet is sufficiently small, a ferromagnet's angular momentum is dominated by atomic electron spins and is predicted to exhibit macroscopic gyroscopic behavior. If such a ferromagnetic gyroscope is sufficiently isolated from the environment, rapid averaging of quantum uncertainty via the spin-lattice interaction enables readout of the ferromagnetic gyroscope dynamics with sufficient sensitivity to measure both the Lense-Thirring (frame dragging) and de Sitter (geodetic precession) effects due to the Earth.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-06-16 |