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Experimental Gravitation Lectures

This document provides a brief description of a course on experimental gravitation that covers several topics: (1) testing the equivalence principle through increasingly precise experiments, (2) using numerical relativity to model astrophysical phenomena like gravitational collapse that can't be solved analytically, and (3) several other precision experiments and theories like Gravity Probe B, parametrized post-Newtonian theory, gravity at small scales, and gravitational wave detectors.

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93 views8 pages

Experimental Gravitation Lectures

This document provides a brief description of a course on experimental gravitation that covers several topics: (1) testing the equivalence principle through increasingly precise experiments, (2) using numerical relativity to model astrophysical phenomena like gravitational collapse that can't be solved analytically, and (3) several other precision experiments and theories like Gravity Probe B, parametrized post-Newtonian theory, gravity at small scales, and gravitational wave detectors.

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auriga2
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Lectures in Experimental Gravitation ...

A brief description of the course


Kostas Kokkotas

April 28, 2010

Kostas Kokkotas

Lectures in Experimental Gravitation ... A brief description of

Lectures in Experimental Gravitation


Testing the Equivalence Principle Numerical Relativity Gravity Probe B Parametrized Post-Newtonian Theory Gravity in Small Scales Gravitational Wave Detectors

Kostas Kokkotas

Lectures in Experimental Gravitation ... A brief description of

Testing the Equivalence Principle


In GR gravitational phenomena arise not from forces and elds, but from the curvature of the 4-dim spacetime. The starting point for this consideration is the Equivalence Principle which states that the Gravitational and the Inertial masses are equal. The equality mG = mI is one of the most accurately tested principles in physics! Now it is known experimentally that: = mG mI < 1013 mG Experimental verication
Galileo (1610) , Newton (1680) < 103 Bessel (19th century) < 2 105 Etvs (1890) & (1908) < 3 109 o o Dicke et al. (1964) < 3 1011 Braginsky et al. (1971) < 9 1013 , Kuroda and Mio (1989) < 8 1010 , Adelberger et al. (1990) < 1 1011 Su et al. (1994) < 1 1012 (torsional) Williams et al. (96), Anderson & Williams (01) < 1 1013 Kostas Kokkotas Lectures in Experimental Gravitation ... A brief description of

Numerical Relativity
Einsteins equations are non-linear PDEs. We can nd analytic solutions only in very special cases when the source of the gravitational eld is highly symmetric. Numerical relativity is providing solutions of realistic astrophysical congurations and phenomena which cannot be addresses with analytic tools e.g. Gravitational Collapse Merging of Neutron Stars or Black holes Dynamics of Compact Objects

Figure: Gravitational Collapse

Figure: Merging Neutron Stars


Kostas Kokkotas

Figure: Neutron Star Dynamics

Lectures in Experimental Gravitation ... A brief description of

Gravity Probe B
Verifying Einsteins prediction on the eects of rotating bodies on the spacetime

Kostas Kokkotas

Lectures in Experimental Gravitation ... A brief description of

Parametrized Post-Newtonian Theory


A way to test, step by step Einsteins theory

The detailed form of the metric components is:

Kostas Kokkotas

Lectures in Experimental Gravitation ... A brief description of

Gravity in Small Scales


GTR (or even Newtonian theory) has been proved corrected at large scales Only recently we are able to verify Newton?s laws for distances smaller than cm It is not at all impossible that gravity might behave dierently in small distances: MOND (an alternative theory) : F GM = 2 + cMr m r String theories predict extra dimensions for the spacetime It is not at all impossible some of these extra dimensions to inuence Newtons law in small scales (not yet Planck) 1 1 N1 r2 r

Kostas Kokkotas

Lectures in Experimental Gravitation ... A brief description of

Gravitational Wave Detectors


Resonant Mass Detectors

Interferometric Detectors

Kostas Kokkotas

Lectures in Experimental Gravitation ... A brief description of

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