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Tests of gravitational theories using space probes

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Abstract

Several high-precision tests of gravitational theories applied to the field of a spherical mass particle (the Sun) are formulated and analyzed. These tests mainly involve the accurate timing by (on-board) atomic clocks of two-way radio signals between two spacecraft (transponders) in various solar orbits. Measures of the gravitational field to at least 1 part in 108, or orderm/R, wherem is the Schwarzschild radius of the Sun andR is the astronomical unit, are aimed at, with an assumed round trip time precision of 10−2 μ s or 1.5 m distance. Since it is important to distinguish between the radial coordinate parameters occurring in the theory of the tests and their common astronomical measurements based on classical assumptions, two of the tests include the means in principle of determining these coordinate parameters.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    W. Davidson

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  1. W. Davidson
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Davidson, W. Tests of gravitational theories using space probes. Int J Theor Phys 17, 651–662 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00673016

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00673016

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