Lessons Learned from the Pioneers 10/11 for a Mission to Test the Pioneer Anomaly

Analysis of the radio-metric tracking data from the Pioneer 10/11 spacecraft at distances between 20--70 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun has consistently indicated the presence of an anomalous, small, constant Doppler frequency drift. The drift is a blue-shift, uniformly changing with rate a_t = (2.92 +/- 0.44) x 10^(-18) s/s^2. It can also be interpreted as a constant acceleration of a_P = (8.74 +/- 1.33) x 10^(-8) cm/s^2 directed towards the Sun. Although it is suspected that there is a systematic origin to the effect, none has been found. As a result, the nature of this anomaly has become of growing interest. Here we discuss the details of our recent investigation focusing on the effects both external to and internal to the spacecraft, as well as those due to modeling and computational techniques. We review some of the mechanisms proposed to explain the anomaly and show their inability to account for the observed behavior of the anomaly. We also present lessons learned from this investigation for a potential deep-space experiment that will reveal the origin of the discovered anomaly and also will characterize its properties with an accuracy of at least two orders of magnitude below the anomaly's size. A number of critical requirements and design considerations for such a mission are outlined and addressed.Comment: 11 pages, invited talk given at ``35th COSPAR Scientific Assebly,'' July 18-24, 2004, Paris, Franc

On an SO(5) unification attempt for the cuprates

In this note we bring out several problems with the SO(5) unification attempt of Zhang [cond-mat/9610140].Comment: 3 pages, latex (revtex

Variational Principles for Natural Divergence-free Tensors in Metric Field Theories

Let $T^{ab}=T^{ba}=0$ be a system of differential equations for the components of a metric tensor on $R^m$. Suppose that $T^{ab}$ transforms tensorially under the action of the diffeomorphism group on metrics and that the covariant divergence of $T^{ab}$ vanishes. We then prove that $T^{ab}$ is the Euler-Lagrange expression some Lagrangian density provided that $T^{ab}$ is of third order. Our result extends the classical works of Cartan, Weyl, Vermeil, Lovelock, and Takens on identifying field equations for the metric tensor with the symmetries and conservation laws of the Einstein equations

Relational Motivation for Conformal Operator Ordering in Quantum Cosmology

Operator-ordering in quantum cosmology is a major as-yet unsettled ambiguity with not only formal but also physical consequences. We determine the Lagrangian origin of the conformal invariance that underlies the conformal operator-ordering choice in quantum cosmology. It is particularly naturally and simply manifest in relationalist product-type actions (such as the Jacobi action for mechanics or Baierlein-Sharp-Wheeler type actions for general relativity), for which all that is required for the kinetic and potential factors to rescale in compensation to each other. These actions themselves mathematically sharply implementing philosophical principles relevant to whole-universe modelling, the motivation for conformal operator-ordering in quantum cosmology is substantially strengthened. Relationalist product-type actions also give emergent times which amount to recovering Newtonian, proper and cosmic time in the various relevant contexts. The conformal scaling of these actions directly tells us how emergent time scales; if one follows suit with the Newtonian time or the lapse in the more commonly used difference-type Euler--Lagrange or Arnowitt--Deser--Misner type actions, one sees how these too obey a more complicated conformal invariance. Moreover, our discovery of the conformal scaling of the time involved permits relating how it simplifies equations of motion with how affine parametrization simplifies geodesics.Comment: Minor modifications; references adde