10 research outputs found
Time Delay Predictions in a Modified Gravity Theory
The time delay effect for planets and spacecraft is obtained from a fully
relativistic modified gravity theory including a fifth force skew symmetric
field by fitting to the Pioneer 10/11 anomalous acceleration data. A possible
detection of the predicted time delay corrections to general relativity for the
outer planets and future spacecraft missions is considered. The time delay
correction to GR predicted by the modified gravity is consistent with the
observational limit of the Doppler tracking measurement reported by the Cassini
spacecraft on its way to Saturn, and the correction increases to a value that
could be measured for a spacecraft approaching Neptune and Pluto.Comment: 5 pages, LaTex file, no figures. Corrections to Table
Indication, from Pioneer 10/11, Galileo, and Ulysses Data, of an Apparent Anomalous, Weak, Long-Range Acceleration
Radio metric data from the Pioneer 10/11, Galileo, and Ulysses spacecraft
indicate an apparent anomalous, constant, acceleration acting on the spacecraft
with a magnitude cm/s, directed towards the Sun.
Two independent codes and physical strategies have been used to analyze the
data. A number of potential causes have been ruled out. We discuss future
kinematic tests and possible origins of the signal.Comment: Revtex, 4 pages and 1 figure. Minor changes for publicatio
Anderson et al. Reply (to the Comment by Murphy on Pioneer 10/11)
We conclude that Murphy's proposal (radiation of the power of the main-bus
electrical systems from the rear of the craft) can not explain the anomalous
Pioneer acceleration.Comment: LaTex, 3 pages, Phys. Rev. Lett. (to be published
Gravitational solution to the Pioneer 10/11 anomaly
A fully relativistic modified gravitational theory including a fifth force
skew symmetric field is fitted to the Pioneer 10/11 anomalous acceleration. The
theory allows for a variation with distance scales of the gravitational
constant G, the fifth force skew symmetric field coupling strength omega and
the mass of the skew symmetric field mu=1/lambda. A fit to the available
anomalous acceleration data for the Pioneer 10/11 spacecraft is obtained for a
phenomenological representation of the "running" constants and values of the
associated parameters are shown to exist that are consistent with fifth force
experimental bounds. The fit to the acceleration data is consistent with all
current satellite, laser ranging and observations for the inner planets.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables. typo's were corrected at Equations (4)
and (12) and a third table including our predictions for the anomalous
perihelion advance of the planets was adde
Post-Einsteinian tests of gravitation
Einstein gravitation theory can be extended by preserving its geometrical
nature but changing the relation between curvature and energy-momentum tensors.
This change accounts for radiative corrections, replacing the Newton
gravitation constant by two running couplings which depend on scale and differ
in the two sectors of traceless and traced tensors. The metric and curvature
tensors in the field of the Sun, which were obtained in previous papers within
a linearized approximation, are then calculated without this restriction.
Modifications of gravitational effects on geodesics are then studied, allowing
one to explore phenomenological consequences of extensions lying in the
vicinity of general relativity. Some of these extended theories are able to
account for the Pioneer anomaly while remaining compatible with tests involving
the motion of planets. The PPN Ansatz corresponds to peculiar extensions of
general relativity which do not have the ability to meet this compatibility
challenge.Comment: 19 pages Corrected typo
Post-Einsteinian tests of linearized gravitation
The general relativistic treatment of gravitation can be extended by
preserving the geometrical nature of the theory but modifying the form of the
coupling between curvature and stress tensors. The gravitation constant is thus
replaced by two running coupling constants which depend on scale and differ in
the sectors of traceless and traced tensors. When calculated in the solar
system in a linearized approximation, the metric is described by two
gravitation potentials. This extends the parametrized post-Newtonian (PPN)
phenomenological framework while allowing one to preserve compatibility with
gravity tests performed in the solar system. Consequences of this extension are
drawn here for phenomena correctly treated in the linear approximation. We
obtain a Pioneer-like anomaly for probes with an eccentric motion as well as a
range dependence of Eddington parameter to be seen in light deflection
experiments.Comment: 15 pages. Accepted version, to appear in Classical and Quantum
Gravit
The Pioneer anomaly in the context of the braneworld scenario
We examine the Pioneer anomaly - a reported anomalous acceleration affecting
the Pioneer 10/11, Galileo and Ulysses spacecrafts - in the context of a
braneworld scenario. We show that effects due to the radion field cannot
account for the anomaly, but that a scalar field with an appropriate potential
is able to explain the phenomena. Implications and features of our solution are
analyzed.Comment: Final version to appear at Classical & Quantum Gravity. Plainlatex 19
page
A Mission to Explore the Pioneer Anomaly
The Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft yielded the most precise navigation in deep
space to date. These spacecraft had exceptional acceleration sensitivity.
However, analysis of their radio-metric tracking data has consistently
indicated that at heliocentric distances of astronomical units,
the orbit determinations indicated the presence of a small, anomalous, Doppler
frequency drift. The drift is a blue-shift, uniformly changing with a rate of
Hz/s, which can be interpreted as a
constant sunward acceleration of each particular spacecraft of . This signal has become known as the Pioneer
anomaly. The inability to explain the anomalous behavior of the Pioneers with
conventional physics has contributed to growing discussion about its origin.
There is now an increasing number of proposals that attempt to explain the
anomaly outside conventional physics. This progress emphasizes the need for a
new experiment to explore the detected signal. Furthermore, the recent
extensive efforts led to the conclusion that only a dedicated experiment could
ultimately determine the nature of the found signal. We discuss the Pioneer
anomaly and present the next steps towards an understanding of its origin. We
specifically focus on the development of a mission to explore the Pioneer
Anomaly in a dedicated experiment conducted in deep space.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures; invited talk given at the 2005 ESLAB Symposium
"Trends in Space Science and Cosmic Vision 2020", 19-21 April 2005, ESTEC,
Noordwijk, The Netherland
The Pioneer Anomaly
Radio-metric Doppler tracking data received from the Pioneer 10 and 11
spacecraft from heliocentric distances of 20-70 AU has consistently indicated
the presence of a small, anomalous, blue-shifted frequency drift uniformly
changing with a rate of ~6 x 10^{-9} Hz/s. Ultimately, the drift was
interpreted as a constant sunward deceleration of each particular spacecraft at
the level of a_P = (8.74 +/- 1.33) x 10^{-10} m/s^2. This apparent violation of
the Newton's gravitational inverse-square law has become known as the Pioneer
anomaly; the nature of this anomaly remains unexplained. In this review, we
summarize the current knowledge of the physical properties of the anomaly and
the conditions that led to its detection and characterization. We review
various mechanisms proposed to explain the anomaly and discuss the current
state of efforts to determine its nature. A comprehensive new investigation of
the anomalous behavior of the two Pioneers has begun recently. The new efforts
rely on the much-extended set of radio-metric Doppler data for both spacecraft
in conjunction with the newly available complete record of their telemetry
files and a large archive of original project documentation. As the new study
is yet to report its findings, this review provides the necessary background
for the new results to appear in the near future. In particular, we provide a
significant amount of information on the design, operations and behavior of the
two Pioneers during their entire missions, including descriptions of various
data formats and techniques used for their navigation and radio-science data
analysis. As most of this information was recovered relatively recently, it was
not used in the previous studies of the Pioneer anomaly, but it is critical for
the new investigation.Comment: 165 pages, 40 figures, 16 tables; accepted for publication in Living
Reviews in Relativit