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Main Author: Balbus, Steven A.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.03965
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author Balbus, Steven A.
author_facet Balbus, Steven A.
contents We show by direct calculation that the common Equivalence Principle explanation for why gravity must deflect light is quantitatively incorrect by a factor of three in Schwarzschild geometry. It is therefore possible, at least as a matter of principle, to tell the difference between local acceleration and a true gravitational field by measuring the local deflection of light. We calculate as well the deflection of test particles of arbitrary energy, and construct a leading-order coordinate transformation from Schwarzschild to local inertial coordinates, which shows explicitly how the effects of spatial curvature manifest locally for relativistic trajectories of both finite and vanishing rest mass particles.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_03965
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Determining the difference between local acceleration and local gravity: applications of the equivalence principle to relativistic trajectories
Balbus, Steven A.
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
We show by direct calculation that the common Equivalence Principle explanation for why gravity must deflect light is quantitatively incorrect by a factor of three in Schwarzschild geometry. It is therefore possible, at least as a matter of principle, to tell the difference between local acceleration and a true gravitational field by measuring the local deflection of light. We calculate as well the deflection of test particles of arbitrary energy, and construct a leading-order coordinate transformation from Schwarzschild to local inertial coordinates, which shows explicitly how the effects of spatial curvature manifest locally for relativistic trajectories of both finite and vanishing rest mass particles.
title Determining the difference between local acceleration and local gravity: applications of the equivalence principle to relativistic trajectories
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.03965