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A spherically symmetric and static metric that describes physical coordinates is introduced. It is defined to be a metric that gives coordinate independent results for physically observable quantities without a further coordinate…
This paper discusses a novel approach for detecting moving massive objects based on the time variation that these objects produce in the local gravitational field measured by several detectors. Such an approach may provide a viable method…
Acceleration sensors built into smartphones, i-pads or tablets can conveniently be used in the Physics laboratory. By virtue of the equivalence principle, a sensor fixed in a non-inertial reference frame cannot discern between a…
The successful miniaturisation of extremely accurate atomic clocks and atom interferometers invites prospects for satellite missions to perform precision experiments. We discuss the effects predicted by general relativity and alternative…
We demonstrate how observations of pulsars can be used to help navigate a spacecraft travelling in the solar system. We make use of archival observations of millisecond pulsars from the Parkes radio telescope in order to demonstrate the…
We speculate on the development and availability of new innovative propulsion techniques in the 2040s, that will allow us to fly a spacecraft outside the Solar System (at 150 AU and more) in a reasonable amount of time, in order to directly…
Polarization wiggling is an observational effect of a gravitational field on the polarization of electromagnetic radiation traversing it. We find that in linear gravity, the polarization wiggle rate contributions from scalar, vector and…
Spaceborne gravity gradients are proposed in this paper to provide autonomous orbit determination capabilities for near Earth satellites. The gravity gradients contain useful position information which can be extracted by matching the…
Orbit determination of spacecraft in orbit has been mostly dependent on either GNSS satellite signals or ground station telemetry. Both methods present their limitations, however: GNSS signals can only be used effectively in earth orbit,…
ASTROD I is the first planned space mission in a series of ASTROD missions for testing relativity in space using optical devices. The main aims are: (i) to test General Relativity with an improvement of three orders of magnitude compared to…
We show that a small, but \textit{measurable} shift in the eclipse mid-point time of eclipsing binary (EBs) stars of $\sim$ 0.1 seconds over a decade baseline can be used to directly measure the Galactic acceleration of stars in the Milky…
Probing the relative speeds of gravitational waves and light acts as an important test of General Relativity and alternative theories of gravity. Measuring the arrival time of gravitational waves and electromagnetic counterparts can be used…
This paper investigates an autonomous navigation method for spacecraft operating in the outer solar system, up to 250 AU from the Sun, using the parallactic shifts of nearby stars. These measurements enable estimation of the spacecraft…
Here we explore the possibility of extending to the Solar System scenario the combined residual approach employed for the deterination of the Lense-Thirring effect in the Earth-LAGEOS satellites system. After calculating the secular…
I present a review of astrometric techniques and instrumentation utilized to search for, detect, and characterize extra-solar planets. First, I briefly summarize the properties of the present-day sample of extrasolar planets, in connection…
One of the major limitations of atomic gravimeters is represented by the vibration noise of the measurement platform, which cannot be distinguished from the relevant acceleration signal. We demonstrate a new method to perform an atom…
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a proposed space mission for the detection of gravitational waves. It consists of three drag-free satellites flying in a triangular constellation. A gravitational reference sensor is used in…
The exploration of interstellar space will require autonomous navigation systems that do not rely on tracking from the Earth. Here I develop a method to determine the 3D position and 3D velocity of a spacecraft in deep space using a star…
The ESA Gaia mission uses two telescopes to create the most ambitious survey of the Galaxy. The angle between them must be known with exquisite precision and accuracy. An interferometer: the Basic Angle Monitoring system measures its…
We propose a new method for measurements of gravitational acceleration using a quantum optomechanical system. As a proof-of-concept, we investigate the fundamental sensitivity for a cavity optomechanical system for gravitational…