An accurate equation for the gravitational bending of light by a static massive object

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: del Barco, Oscar
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author del Barco, Oscar
author_facet del Barco, Oscar
contents An exact analytical expression for the bending angle of light due to a non-rotating massive object, considering the actual distances from source and observer to the gravitational mass, is derived. Our novel formula generalizes Darwin well-known equation for gravitational light bending [Proc. R. Soc. London A 263, 39-50 (1961)], where both source and observer are placed at infinite distance from the lensing mass, and provides excellent results in comparison with the post Newtonian (PPN) formalism up to first order. As a result, the discrepancy between our recent expression and the PPN approach is 6.6 mas for sun-grazing beams coming from planet Mercury, with significant differences up to 2 mas for distant starlight. Our findings suggest that these considerations should not be dismissed for both solar system objects and extragalactic sources, where non-negligible errors might be present in ultraprecise astrometry calculations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_03949
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle An accurate equation for the gravitational bending of light by a static massive object
del Barco, Oscar
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
An exact analytical expression for the bending angle of light due to a non-rotating massive object, considering the actual distances from source and observer to the gravitational mass, is derived. Our novel formula generalizes Darwin well-known equation for gravitational light bending [Proc. R. Soc. London A 263, 39-50 (1961)], where both source and observer are placed at infinite distance from the lensing mass, and provides excellent results in comparison with the post Newtonian (PPN) formalism up to first order. As a result, the discrepancy between our recent expression and the PPN approach is 6.6 mas for sun-grazing beams coming from planet Mercury, with significant differences up to 2 mas for distant starlight. Our findings suggest that these considerations should not be dismissed for both solar system objects and extragalactic sources, where non-negligible errors might be present in ultraprecise astrometry calculations.
title An accurate equation for the gravitational bending of light by a static massive object
topic Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.03949