English

Formulation of testing gravitational redshift based on Laser Time link between China Space Station and a ground station

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2026-05-11 v1 Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Geophysics

Abstract

This paper presents a high-precision gravitational redshift test using the China Space Station (CSS) Laser Time Transfer (CLT) system. We develop a comprehensive observation equation based on a c^{-3} order relativistic model for space-ground clock comparison. While the CSS optical clock system is currently in the orbital debugging phase, our simulation using actual CSS orbit data achieves a gravitational redshift verification precision of (1.8 \pm 47)*10^{-7} -- approximately one order of magnitude improvement over previous experiments. Our work represents the first application of laser-based time transfer for gravitational redshift verification at such precision, and the first use of the CSS CLT link for testing this fundamental aspect of General Relativity. Unlike microwave-based methods, our laser approach avoids ionospheric effects and first-order Doppler shifts. Residual analysis identifies tropospheric delay variations and atmospheric turbulence as the primary remaining uncertainty contributors. The achieved precision enables gravitational potential difference measurements with 0.1 m^2/s^2 precision -- offering new capabilities for both fundamental physics investigations and geodetic applications including intercontinental height transfer. This work establishes a new benchmark for high-precision tests of relativistic physics and demonstrates the transformative potential of space-based optical time transfer.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2605.07216,
  title  = {Formulation of testing gravitational redshift based on Laser Time link between China Space Station and a ground station},
  author = {Rui Xu and Wenbin Shen and Hok Sum Fok and Pengfei Zhang and Lihong Li and Lei Wang and Kuangchao Wu and An Ning and Youchao Xie and Ziyu Shen and Lingxuan Wang and Yongqi Zhao and Kai Liu and Yuanjin Pan},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.07216},
  year   = {2026}
}