Abstract
Unlike Newtonian mechanics, Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity predicts that the Sun causes the space around it to curve. As a result, a light ray passing near the solar limb will be deflected by twice the amount predicted by Newtonian theory. As John Archibald Wheeler put it, “space-time geometry tells mass-energy how to move and mass-energy tells space-time geometry how to curve.” This chapter reviews the experimental verification of light deflection, from an early eclipse expedition in 1919 to more recent measurements using interplanetary spacecraft and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). It turns out that the Einstein prediction is correct to within a realistic standard error of about 26 parts per million.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Z. Altamimi, P. Sillard, C. Boucher, “ITRF2000: A New Release of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame for Earth Science Applications,” Jour. Geophys. Res., 107 B10 (2002).
J. D. Anderson, P. B. Esposito, W. Martin, C. L. Thornton, D. O. Muhleman, “Experimental Test of General Relativity Using Time-Delay Data from Mariner 6 and Mariner 7,” Astrophys. Jour. 200, 221 (1975).
J. D. Anderson, E. L. Lau, G. Giampieri, “Measurement of the PPN Parameter γ with Radio Signals from the Cassini Spacecraft at X- and Ka-Bands,” in Proceedings of the 22nd Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics, Stanford University, December 13-17 2004, ed. by P.Chen, E. Bloom, G. Madejski, V. Petrosian, SLAC-R-752, (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Technical Publications, Menlo Park, CA 2004).
B. Bertotti, G. Giampieri, “Relativistic Effects for Doppler Measurements Near Solar Conjunction,” Class. Quant. Grav. 9, 777 (1992).
B. Bertotti, G. Giampieri, “Solar Corona Plasma in Doppler Measurements,” Solar Phys. 178, 85–107 (1998).
B. Bertotti, L. Iess, P. Tortora, “A Test of General Relativity Using Radio Links with the Cassini Spacecraft,” Nature 425, 374–376 (2003).
C. Brans, R. H. Dicke, “Mach’s Principle and a Relativistic Theory of Gravitation,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 925–935 (1961).
I. Ciufolini, J. A. Wheeler, Gravitation and Inertia, (Princeton University Press, Princeton 1995).
T. A. Clark et al., “Precision geodesy using the Mark-III very-long-baseline interferometer system,” IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. 23 438 (1985).
A. N. Cox, Allen’s Astrophysical Quantities Fourth Edition, Chapter 2, (AIP Press, New York 1999).
T. Damour, K. Nordtvedt, “General relativity as a cosmological attractor of tensor-scalar theories,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 2217 (1993a).
T. Damour, K. Nordtvedt, “Tensor-scalar cosmological models and their relaxation toward general relativity,” Phys. Rev. D48, 3436 (1993b).
A. S. Eddington, The Mathematical Theory of Relativity, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1922).
C. W. F. Everitt, in J. D. Fairbank, B. S. Deaver, Jr., C. W. F. Everitt and P. F. Michelson, Near Zero: New Frontiers of Physics, (Freeman, San Francisco, 1988).
E. B. Fomalont, R. A. Sramek, “Measurements of the Solar Gravitational Deflection of Radio Waves in Agreement with General Relativity,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 36, 1475–1478 (1976).
E. B. Fomalont, R. A. Sramek, “A Confirmation of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity by Measuring the Bending of Microwave Radiation in the Gravitational Field of the Sun,” Astrophys. Jour. 199, 749 (1975).
B. F. Jones, “Gravitational Deflection of Light: Solar Eclipse of 30 June 1973 II. Plate Reductions,” Astron. Jour. 81, 455–463 (1976).
S. M. Kopeikin, A. G. Polnarev, G. Schaefer, I. Yu. Vlasov, “Gravimagnetic Effect of the Barycentric Motions of the Sun and Determination of the Post-Newtonian Parameter Gamma in the Cassini Experiment,” Phys. Lett. A 367 (2007).
T. P. Krisher, J. D. Anderson, A. H. Taylor, “Voyager 2 Test of the Radar Time-delay Effect,” Astrophys. Jour. 373, 665 (1999).
F. van Leeuwen, Hipparcos, the New Reduction of the Raw Data, (Springer, 2007).
C. Ma, E. F. Arias, T. M. Eubanks, A. L. Fey, A.-M. Gontier, C. S. Jacobs, O. J. Sovers, B.A.Archinal, P. Charlot, “The International Celestial Reference Frame as Realized by Very Long Baseline Interferometry,” Astron. Jour. 116 516–546 (1998).
C. Misner, K. Thorne, J. A. Wheeler, Gravitation, (Freeman, 1973).
T. D. Moyer, Formulation for Observed and Computed Values of Deep Space Network Data Types for Navigation, (Wiley-Interscience, 2003).
X X Newhall, E. M. Standish, J. G. Williams, “DE 102 - A numerically integrated ephemeris of the moon and planets spanning forty-four centuries,” Astron. Astrophys. 125 150 (1983).
R. D. Reasenberg, et al., “Viking Relativity Experiment: Verification of Signal Retardation by Solar Gravity,” Astrophys. Jour. 234, L219–L221 (1979).
H. P. Robertson, In Space Age Astronomy, ed. by A. J. Deutsch and W. B. Klemperer, (Academic Press, New York 1962).
D. S. Robertson, W. E. Carter, W. H. Dillinger, “New measurement of solar gravitational deflection of radio signals using VLBI,” Nature 349 768–770 (1991).
D. K. Ross, L. I. Schiff, “Analysis of the Proposed Planetary Radar Reflection Experiment,” Phys. Rev. 141, 1215 (1966).
F. Schmeidler, “Observations of the light deflection during the Solar eclipse on 15th February, 1961,” Astron. Nachr. 306, 71 (1985).
I. I. Shapiro, “Fourth Test of General Relativity,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 13, 789–791 (1964).
I. I. Shapiro, “Ross-Schiff Analysis of a Proposed Test of General Relativity: A Critique,” Phys. Rev. 145 1005 (1966).
I. I. Shapiro, “New Method for the Detection of Light Deflection by Solar Gravity,” Science 157 806 (1967).
I. I. Shapiro, M. E. Ash, R. P. Ingalls, W. B. Smith, D. B. Campbell, R. B. Dyce, R. F. Jurgens, G. H. Pettengill, “Fourth Test of General Relativity: New Radar Result,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 26 1132 (1971).
S. S. Shapiro, J. L. Davis, D. E. Lebach, J. S. Gregory, “Measurement of the Solar Gravitational Deflection of Radio Waves using Geodetic Very-Long Baselene Interferometry Data, 1979–1999, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92 121101 (2004).
M. Soffel, S. A. Klioner, G. Petit, P. Wolf, S. M. Kopeikin, P. Bretagnon, V.A.Brumberg, N. Capitaine, T. Damour, T. Fukushima, B. Guinot, T.-Y. Huang, L. Lindegren, C. Ma, K.Nordtvedt, J. C. Ries, P. K. Seidelmann, D. Vokrouhlicky, C. M. Will, C. Xu, “The IAU 2000 Resolutions for Astrometry, Celestial Mechanics, and Metrology in the Relativistic Framework: Explanatory Supplement,” Astron. Jour. 126, 2687–2706 (2003).
S. Weinberg, Gravitation and Cosmology: Principles and Applications of the General Theory fo Relativity, (Wiley, New York 1972).
C. M. Will, Theory and Experiment in Gravitational Physics, Rev. ed., (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1993).
C. M. Will, “was Einstein Right? Testing Relativity at the Centenary,” in 100 Years of Relativity, ed. by Abhay Ashtekar, (World Scientific, Singapore 2005).
O. I. Yakolev, Space Radio Science, (Taylor and Francis, New York 2002).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Anderson, J.D., Lau, E.L. (2010). Measurements of Space Curvature by Solar Mass. In: Ciufolini, I., Matzner, R. (eds) General Relativity and John Archibald Wheeler. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 367. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3735-0_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3735-0_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-3734-3
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-3735-0
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)