On Some Applications of the Sagnac Effect

Abstract

Considering exact spacetimes representing rotating black holes and naked singularities, we study the possibility that the Sagnac effect detects $i$) higher dimensions, $ii$) rotation of black holes in higher dimension, and also, $iii$) distinguishes black holes from naked singularities. The results indicate that the Sagnac time delay gets affected by the presence of extra-dimension or its associated angular momentum. This time delay is also different in the spacetime of a naked singularity compared to that of a black hole. Hence, the Sagnac effect may be used as an experiment for better understanding of spacetimes with higher dimensions or those that admit naked singularities.