Opportunities for Probing Fundamental Gravity with Solar System Experiments

The recent discovery of "dark energy" has challenged Einstein's general theory of relativity as a complete model for our macroscopic universe. From a theoretical view, the challenge is even stronger: general relativity clearly does not extend to the very small, where quantum mechanics...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2009-02
Main Authors: Turyshev, Slava G, Murphy, Thomas W, Jr, Adelberger, Eric G, Battat, James, Currie, Douglas, Folkner, William M, Gundlach, Jens, Merkowitz, Stephen M, Nordtvedt, Kenneth L, Reasenberg, Robert D, Shapiro, Irwin I, Shao, Michael, Stubbs, Christopher W, Tinto, Massimo, Williams, James G, Yu, Nan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Dark energy
Experiments
Quantum mechanics
Relativity
Solar system
Theory of relativity
Universe
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The recent discovery of "dark energy" has challenged Einstein's general theory of relativity as a complete model for our macroscopic universe. From a theoretical view, the challenge is even stronger: general relativity clearly does not extend to the very small, where quantum mechanics holds sway. Fundamental physics models thus require some major revisions. We must explore deeper to both constrain and inspire this needed new physics. In the realm of the solar-system, we can effectively probe for small deviations from the predictions of general relativity: Technology now offers a wide range of opportunities to pursue experiments with accuracies orders of magnitude better than yet achieved. We describe both the relevant theoretical backgrounds and the opportunities for far more accurate solar system experiments.
ISSN:2331-8422