A quantum view of photon gravity: The gravitational mass of photon and its implications on previous experimental tests of general relativity

Abstract

General relativity (GR) is an important theory that requires very stringent tests. So far, its supporting evidence comes mainly from measurements of photon gravitational effects, including light bending near the Sun, gravitational lensing in some galaxies and gravitational redshift of light. These previous experiments were designed based on a hidden assumption, namely, the gravitational mass of a photon is zero; thus, light should not be bent in a gravitational field if there is no space-time curving. In this work, we showed that the gravitational mass of a photon is not zero. Instead, it is equal to its quantum mass, which can be determined from its momentum using the de Broglie relation. Based on this understanding, the gravitational effects of light can be explained more simply using quantum physics. Our findings suggest that, in order to fully evaluate the theory of GR, more stringent experimental tests are required. Some examples of future experiments for testing the principle of equivalence are proposed here.