LUNAR LASER RANGING TESTS OF THE EQUIVALENCE PRINCIPLE WITH THE EARTH AND MOON

DOI10.1142/S021827180901500XMaRDI QIDQ3395541zbMATH OpenWikidataFDO

Authors James G. Williams, Slava G. Turyshev, Dale H. Boggs

Publication date 5 September 2009

Published in International Journal of Modern Physics D (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0507083

equivalence principle lunar laser ranging tests of general relativity

Equations of motion in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C10) Galactic and stellar dynamics (85A05) Observational and experimental questions in relativity and gravitational theory (83B05)

Abstract: A primary objective of the Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) experiment is to provide precise observations of the lunar orbit that contribute to a wide range of science investigations. Time series of the highly accurate measurements of the distance between the Earth and Moon provide unique information used to determine whether, in accordance with the Equivalence Principle (EP), both of these celestial bodies are falling towards the Sun at the same rate, despite their different masses, compositions, and gravitational self-energies. Current LLR solutions give

(- 1.0 p m 1.4) i m e s 1 0^{- 13}

for any possible inequality in the ratios of the gravitational and inertial masses for the Earth and Moon,

D e l t a (M_{G} / M_{I})

. This result, in combination with laboratory experiments on the weak equivalence principle, yields a strong equivalence principle (SEP) test of

D e l t a (M_{G} / M_{I})_{t S E P} = (- 2.0 p m 2.0) i m e s 1 0^{- 13}

. Such an accurate result allows other tests of gravitational theories. The result of the SEP test translates into a value for the corresponding SEP violation parameter

e t a

of

(4.4 p m 4.5) i m e s 1 0^{- 4}

, where

and both

g a m m a

and

are parametrized post-Newtonian (PPN) parameters. The PPN parameter

is determined to be

. Focusing on the tests of the EP, we discuss the existing data, and characterize the modeling and data analysis techniques. The robustness of the LLR solutions is demonstrated with several different approaches that are presented in the text. We emphasize that near-term improvements in the LLR ranging accuracy will further advance the research of relativistic gravity in the solar system, and, most notably, will continue to provide highly accurate tests of the Equivalence Principle.

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