Optical Design for the Laser Astrometric Test of Relativity

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dc.creatorTuryshev, Slava G.
dc.creatorShao, Michael
dc.creatorNordtvedt, Kenneth L.
dc.date2005-02-25
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T06:26:49Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T06:26:49Z
dc.descriptionThis paper discusses the Laser Astrometric Test Of Relativity (LATOR) mission. By using a combination of independent time-series of highly accurate gravitational deflection of light in the immediate proximity to the Sun along with measurements of the Shapiro time delay on the interplanetary scales (to a precision respectively better than $10^{-13}$ radians and 1 cm), LATOR will significantly improve our knowledge of relativistic gravity. The primary mission objective is to i) measure the key post-Newtonian Eddington parameter $γ$ with accuracy of a part in 10$^9$. $(1-γ)$ is a direct measure for presence of a new interaction in gravitational theory, and, in its search, LATOR goes a factor 30,000 beyond the present best result, Cassini's 2003 test. Other mission objectives include: ii) first measurement of gravity's non-linear effects on light to $\sim$0.01% accuracy; including both the traditional Eddington $β$ parameter and also the spatial metric's 2nd order potential contribution (never been measured before); iii) direct measurement of the solar quadrupole moment $J_2$ (currently unavailable) to accuracy of a part in 200 of its expected size; iv) direct measurement of the ``frame-dragging'' effect on light by the Sun's rotational gravitomagnetic field to one percent accuracy. LATOR's primary measurement pushes to unprecedented accuracy the search for cosmologically relevant scalar-tensor theories of gravity by looking for a remnant scalar field in today's solar system. The key element of LATOR is a geometric redundancy provided by the laser ranging and long-baseline optical interferometry. We discuss the mission and optical designs of this proposed experiment.
dc.description11 pages, 7 figures, and 2 tables. Invited talk given at ``The XXII Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics,'' Stanford University, December 13-17, 2004
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0502113
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0502113
dc.identifier``The XXII Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics,'' Stanford University, December 13-17, 2004, edited by P. Chen, E. Bloom, G. Madejski, and V. Petrosian. SLAC-R-752, Stanford e-Conf #C041213, paper #0306
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/97229
dc.subjectGeneral Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
dc.titleOptical Design for the Laser Astrometric Test of Relativity
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