Interferometric Measurement of Acceleration at Relativistic Speeds
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
2017-01-18 v4
Abstract
We show that an interferometer moving at a relativistic speed relative to a point source of light offers a sensitive probe of acceleration. Such an accelerometer contains no moving parts, and is thus more robust than conventional "mass-on-a-spring" accelerometers. In an interstellar mission to Alpha-Centauri, such an accelerometer could be used to measure the masses of planets around other stars as well as the mass distribution of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1608.08230,
title = {Interferometric Measurement of Acceleration at Relativistic Speeds},
author = {Pierre Christian and Abraham Loeb},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1608.08230},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters