Gravitation and electromagnetism

Through an examination of the Bohm-Aharonov experiment, a new theory of gravitation and electromagnetism is proposed. The fundamental assumption of the theory is that the motion of a particle in a combination of gravitational and electromagnetic fields is determined from a variational principle of the form delta integral /sub A//sup B /d tau =0. The form of the physical time is determined from an examination of the Maxwell-Einstein action function. The field and motion equations are formally identical to those of Maxwell-Einstein theory. The theory predicts that even in a field-free region of space, electromagnetic potentials can alter the phase of a wave function and the lifetime of a charged particle. The phase alteration has been observed in the Bohm-Aharonov experiment. There is an indication that the lifetime alteration has shown up in a recent CERN storage ring experiment. Experimental tests are proposed. (11 refs).