Relativistic positioning systems: the emission coordinates

DOI10.1088/0264-9381/23/24/012zbMATH Open1112.83009arXivgr-qc/0606044OpenAlexW2158399655MaRDI QIDQ3419009FDOQ3419009

Authors: Bartolomé Coll, José María Pozo 

Publication date: 5 February 2007

Published in: Classical and Quantum Gravity (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: This paper introduces some general properties of the gravitational metric and the natural basis of vectors and covectors in 4-dimensional emission coordinates. Emission coordinates are a class of space-time coordinates defined and generated by 4 emitters (satellites) broadcasting their proper time by means of electromagnetic signals. They are a constitutive ingredient of the simplest conceivable relativistic positioning systems. Their study is aimed to develop a theory of these positioning systems, based on the framework and concepts of general relativity, as opposed to introducing `relativistic effects' in a classical framework. In particular, we characterize the causal character of the coordinate vectors, covectors and 2-planes, which are of an unusual type. We obtain the inequality conditions for the contravariant metric to be Lorentzian, and the non-trivial and unexpected identities satisfied by the angles formed by each pair of natural vectors. We also prove that the metric can be naturally split in such a way that there appear 2 parameters (scalar functions) dependent exclusively on the trajectory of the emitters, hence independent of the time broadcast, and 4 parameters, one for each emitter, scaling linearly with the time broadcast by the corresponding satellite, hence independent of the others.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0606044

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zbMATH Keywords

causalityemission coordinatesglobal navigation systemsnormalized emission framenull coframesrelativistic approach

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Equations of motion in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C10) Einstein's equations (general structure, canonical formalism, Cauchy problems) (83C05)

Cited In (14)

• Emission versus Fermi coordinates: applications to relativistic positioning systems
• Emission coordinates in Minkowski space-time
• The covariance of GPS coordinates and frames
• Four causal classes of Newtonian frames
• Conformal proper times according to the Woodhouse causal axiomatics of relativistic spacetimes
• MAPPING CARTESIAN COORDINATES INTO EMISSION COORDINATES: SOME TOY MODELS
• Relativistic positioning systems in flat space-time: the location problem
• Positioning systems in Minkowski spacetime: from emission to inertial coordinates
• Using global positioning systems to test extensions of general relativity
• Discrete relativistic positioning systems
• Some improvements on relativistic positioning systems
• Position determination and strong field parallax effects for photon emitters in the Schwarzschild spacetime
• Extended Fermi coordinates
• Relativistic localizing processes bespeak an inevitable projective geometry of spacetime

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