Particle detectors, geodesic motion and the equivalence principle

J ul 2 00 3 Particle detectors , geodesic motion , and the equivalence principle

It is shown that quantum particle detectors are not reliable probes of spacetime structure. In particular, they fail to distinguish between inertial and non-inertial motion in a general spacetime. To prove this, we consider detectors undergoing circular motion in an arbitrary static spherically symmetric spacetime, and give a necessary and sufficient condition for the response function to vanis...

70 40 v 2 1 7 N ov 2 00 3 Particle detectors , geodesic motion , and the equivalence principle Sebastiano Sonego

It is shown that quantum particle detectors are not reliable probes of spacetime structure. In particular, they fail to distinguish between inertial and non-inertial motion in a general spacetime. To prove this, we consider detectors undergoing circular motion in an arbitrary static spherically symmetric spacetime, and give a necessary and sufficient condition for the response function to vanis...

The Equivalence Principle, the Covariance Principle

The equivalence principle, which states the local equivalence between acceleration and gravity, requires that a free falling observer must result in a co-moving local Minkowski space. On the other hand, covariance principle assumes any Gaussian system to be valid as a space-time coordinate system. Given the mathematical existence of the co-moving local Minkowski space along a time-like geodesic...

The Equivalence Principle

Questioning the Equivalence Principle

The Equivalence Principle (EP) is not one of the “universal” principles of physics (like the Action Principle). It is a heuristic hypothesis which was introduced by Einstein in 1907, and used by him to construct his theory of General Relativity. In modern language, the (Einsteinian) EP consists in assuming that the only long-range field with gravitational-strength couplings to matter is a massl...