Optical interferometers for tests of relativistic gravity in space

A space-based astrometric interferometer with a large optical bandwidth is considered. POINTS (Precision Optical INTerferometry in Space) would measure the angular separation of two stars separated by about 90 deg on the sky with a nominal measurement error of 5 microarcseconds (mas). For a pair of mag 10 stars, the observation would require about 10 minutes. It is estimated that the instrument would measure daily the separation of two stars for each of about 60 pairs of stars; a random sequence of such measurements, if suitably redundant, contains the closure information necessary to detect and correct time dependent measurement biases to well below the nominal measurement accuracy. The 90 deg target separation permits absolute parallax measurements in all directions. A redundant observing schedule for 300 stars and 5 quasars would provide extra redundancy to compensate for the quasars' higher magnitude. If a nominal 30-day observation sequence were repeated 4 times per year for 10 years, stellar parameter uncertainties would be obtained of: 0.6 mas, position; 0.4 mas/y, proper motion; and 0.4 mas, parallax. This set of well-observed stars and quasars would form a rigid frame and the stars would serve as reference objects for measurements of all additional targets, as well as being targets of direct scientific interest. The instrument global data analysis since objectives are considered including a relativity test and technology

Geophysical interpretation of Venus gravity data

The investigation of the subsurface mass distribution of Venus through the analysis of the data from Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) is presented. The Doppler tracking data was used to map the gravitational potential, which was compared to the topographic data from the PVO radar (ORAD). In order to obtain an unbiased comparison, the topography obtained from the PVO-ORAD was filtered to introduce distortions which are the same as those of our gravity models. The last major software package that was required in order to determine the spectral admittance Z (lambda) was used. This package solves the forward problem: given the topography and its density, and assuming no compensation, find the resulting spacecraft acceleration along a given nominal trajectory. The filtered topography is obtained by processing these accelerations in the same way (i.e., with the same geophysical inverter) as the Doppler-rate data that we use to estimate the gravity maps

Prospects for Large Relativity Violations in Matter-Gravity Couplings

Deviations from relativity are tightly constrained by numerous experiments. A class of unmeasured and potentially large violations is presented that can be tested in the laboratory only via weak gravity couplings. Specialized highly sensitive experiments could achieve measurements of the corresponding effects. A single constraint of 1 x 10^{-11} GeV is extracted on one combination of the 12 possible effects in ordinary matter. Estimates are provided for attainable sensitivities in existing and future experiments.Comment: 10 page

Weak Equivalence Principle Test on a Sounding Rocket

SR-POEM, our principle of equivalence measurement on a sounding rocket, will compare the free fall rate of two substances yielding an uncertainty of E-16 in the estimate of \eta. During the past two years, the design concept has matured and we have been working on the required technology, including a laser gauge that is self aligning and able to reach 0.1 pm per root hertz for periods up to 40 s. We describe the status and plans for this project.Comment: Presented at the Fifth Meeting on CPT and Lorentz Symmetry, Bloomington, Indiana, June 28-July 2, 201

Friedmann Equation for Brans Dicke Cosmology

In the context of Brans-Dicke scalar tensor theory of gravitation, the cosmological Friedmann equation which relates the expansion rate $H$ of the universe to the various fractions of energy density is analyzed rigorously. It is shown that Brans-Dicke scalar tensor theory of gravitation brings a negligible correction to the matter density component of Friedmann equation. Besides, in addition to $\Omega_{\Lambda}$ and $\Omega_{M}$ in standard Einstein cosmology, another density parameter, $\Omega_{_{\Delta}}$, is expected by the theory. This implies that if $\Omega_{_{\Delta}}$ is found to be nonzero, data will favor this model instead of the standard Einstein cosmological model with cosmological constant and will enable more accurate predictions for the rate of change of Newtonian gravitational constant in the future.Comment: minor reference change

A critical-density closed Universe in Brans-Dicke theory

In a Brans-Dicke (BD) cosmological model, the energy density associated with some scalar field decreases as \displaystyle a^{{-2}(\frac{\omega_{o}+ {\frac12}%}{\omega_{o}+1})} with the scale factor $a(t)$ of the Universe, giving a matter with an Equation of state $\displaystyle p=-{1/3}(\frac{2+\omega_{o}}{1+\omega_{o}}) \rho$. In this model, the Universe could be closed but still have a nonrelativistic-matter density corresponding to its critical value, $\Omega_{o}=1$. Different cosmological expressions, such as, luminosity distance, angular diameter, number count and ratio of the redshift tickness-angular size, are determined in terms of the redshift for this model.Comment: To appear in MNRAS, 7 pages, 5 eps figure

Long-Term Clustering, Scaling, and Universality in the Temporal Occurrence of Earthquakes

Scaling analysis reveals striking regularities in earthquake occurrence. The time between any one earthquake and that following it is random, but it is described by the same universal-probability distribution for any spatial region and magnitude range considered. When time is expressed in rescaled units, set by the averaged seismic activity, the self-similar nature of the process becomes apparent. The form of the probability distribution reveals that earthquakes tend to cluster in time, beyond the duration of aftershock sequences. Furthermore, if aftershock sequences are analysed in an analogous way, yet taking into account the fact that seismic activity is not constant but decays in time, the same universal distribution is found for the rescaled time between events.Comment: short paper, only 2 figure

Universality in solar flare and earthquake occurrence

Earthquakes and solar flares are phenomena involving huge and rapid releases of energy characterized by complex temporal occurrence. By analysing available experimental catalogs, we show that the stochastic processes underlying these apparently different phenomena have universal properties. Namely both problems exhibit the same distributions of sizes, inter-occurrence times and the same temporal clustering: we find afterflare sequences with power law temporal correlations as the Omori law for seismic sequences. The observed universality suggests a common approach to the interpretation of both phenomena in terms of the same driving physical mechanism

Newtonian Limit of Conformal Gravity

We study the weak-field limit of the static spherically symmetric solution of the locally conformally invariant theory advocated in the recent past by Mannheim and Kazanas as an alternative to Einstein's General Relativity. In contrast with the previous works, we consider the physically relevant case where the scalar field that breaks conformal symmetry and generates fermion masses is nonzero. In the physical gauge, in which this scalar field is constant in space-time, the solution reproduces the weak-field limit of the Schwarzschild--(anti)DeSitter solution modified by an additional term that, depending on the sign of the Weyl term in the action, is either oscillatory or exponential as a function of the radial distance. Such behavior reflects the presence of, correspondingly, either a tachion or a massive ghost in the spectrum, which is a serious drawback of the theory under discussion.Comment: 9 pages, comments and references added; the version to be published in Phys. Rev.