Worldine deviations and epicycles
High Energy Physics - Theory
2009-11-07 v1 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Abstract
In general relativity, only relative acceleration has an observer-independend meaning: curvature and non-gravitational forces determine the rate at which world lines of test bodies diverge or converge. We derive the equations governing both in the conventional geometric formalism as well as using the background field method. This allows us to generalize the results to test bodies with charge and/or spin. The application of the equations to the motion of particles in a central field results in an elegant, fully relativistic version of the Ptolemaean epicycle scheme.
Cite
@article{arxiv.hep-th/0201083,
title = {Worldine deviations and epicycles},
author = {J. W. van Holten},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:hep-th/0201083},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
Talk presented at the Journees Relativistes, Dublin (Ireland), sept. 2001