A thought experiment is reviewed which shows two things. First, in a region of a rotating frame that is not simply connected, the inertial forces can be canceled without completely canceling the inertial vector potential (whose curl determines the Coriolis force); second, the presence of this uncanceled potential can be detected in a quantum interference experiment. It is then argued that the thought experiment was realized in an earlier experiment involving a rotating superconductor, and that the experimental results confirm the (...) theoretical prediction. In this way, the first experimental verification of a physical effect due to a nonelectromagnetic potential in a force-free region is established. An analogous experiment for the gravitational vector potential is also discussed. Finally, it is pointed out that the close connection between electromagnetic and inertial vector potentials provides an intuitive way to make predictions about rotating superconductors. (shrink)

The equivalence principle, being one of the building blocks of general relativity, seems to be crucial for analysis of quantum effects in gravity. In this paper we consider the relation between the equivalence principle and the consistency of quantum information processing in gravitational field. We propose an analysis with a looped evolution consisting of steps both in the gravitational field and in the accelerated reference frame. We show that without the equivalence principle the looped quantum evolution cannot be unitary and (...) looses its consistency. For this reasoning the equivalence principle is formulated in terms of the gauge transformations and is analyzed for particles acquiring an appropriate phase associated with the action over the looped path. In consequence, to keep consistency of quantum operations in gravitational field, it is required to keep a quantum variant of the equivalence principle. This proves importance of the quantized version of this fundamental gravitational principle for quantum information processing. (shrink)

In a sequel to our previous paper we discuss two thought experiments which show that potentials in force-free regions have not only a nonlocal physically measurable significance (via, e.g., ∮A ·dl), but, in singly connected portions of that region, also have a necessary local significance (via their quantum spread ΔA, which cannot be neglected). We then show, in continuation to the foregoing paper, how suchA arise “geometrically” as kinematic quantities associated with the transformation between “quantum-related” reference frames, e.g., when the (...) relative frame velocities areq-numbers possessing a quantum spread. (shrink)

We review and elaborate upon a thought experiment of Aharonov and Carmi concerning the inertial and electromagnetic vector potentials. We discuss several conclusions suggested by this experiment which involve extensions of the equivalence principle, and then emphasize the use of the experiment as a predictive tool.