1 research outputs found
Modulation of LISA free-fall orbits due to the Earth-Moon system
We calculate the effect of the Earth-Moon (EM) system on the free-fall motion
of LISA test masses. We show that the periodic gravitational pulling of the EM
system induces a resonance with fundamental frequency 1 yr^-1 and a series of
periodic perturbations with frequencies equal to integer harmonics of the
synodic month (9.92 10^-7 Hz). We then evaluate the effects of these
perturbations (up to the 6th harmonics) on the relative motions between each
test masses couple, finding that they range between 3mm and 10pm for the 2nd
and 6th harmonic, respectively. If we take the LISA sensitivity curve, as
extrapolated down to 10^-6 Hz, we obtain that a few harmonics of the EM system
can be detected in the Doppler data collected by the LISA space mission. This
suggests that the EM system gravitational near field could provide an absolute
calibration for the LISA sensitivity at very low frequencies.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure