Related papers: GRAVITY: metrology
Large scale square ring laser gyros with a length of four meters on each side are approaching a sensitivity of 1x10^-11 rad/s/sqrt(Hz). This is about the regime required to measure the gravitomagnetic effect (Lense Thirring) of the Earth.…
Just like light, gravitational waves (GWs) are deflected and magnified by gravitational fields as they propagate through the Universe. However, their low frequency, phase coherence and feeble coupling to matter allow for distinct lensing…
We present a realization of astronomical relativistic reference frames in the solar system and its application to the GRAIL mission. We model the necessary spacetime coordinate transformations for light-trip time computations and address…
The detection of astrophysical Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) has always been intertwined with the challenge of identifying the direction of the source. Accurate angular localization of better than a degree has been achieved to date only with…
The gravity field maps of the satellite gravimetry missions GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) and GRACE Follow-On are derived by means of precise orbit determination. The key observation is the biased inter-satellite range,…
BRITE-Constellation (where BRITE stands for BRIght Target Explorer) is an international nanosatellite mission to monitor photometrically, in two colours, the brightness and temperature variations of stars generally brighter than mag(V) ~ 4,…
Infrared interferometry is a new frontier for precision ground based observing, with new instrumentation achieving milliarcsecond (mas) spatial resolutions for faint sources, along with astrometry on the order of 10 microarcseconds. This…
We present the package Gravelamps which is designed to analyse lensed gravitational wave signals in order to constrain the mass density profile of the lensing object. Gravelamps does this via parameter estimation using the framework of…
The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) is an observatory designed to perform gamma-ray astronomy in the energy range 20 MeV to 300 GeV, with supporting measurements for gamma-ray bursts from 10 keV to 25 MeV. GLAST will be…
Tests of gravity on large-scales in the universe can be made using both imaging and spectroscopic surveys. The former allow for measurements of weak lensing, galaxy clustering and cross-correlations such as the ISW effect. The latter probe…
The spin of the supermassive black hole that resides at the Galactic Centre can in principle be measured by accurate measurements of the orbits of stars that are much closer to SgrA* than S2, the orbit of which recently provided the…
With today's millimeter and submillimeter instruments observers use gravitational lensing mostly as a tool to boost the sensitivity when observing distant objects. This is evident through the dominance of gravitationally lensed objects…
Gravimeters are devices which measure changes in the value of the gravitational acceleration, \textit{g}. This information is used to infer changes in density under the ground allowing the detection of subsurface voids; mineral, oil and gas…
This paper discusses new Fundamental physics experiment that will test relativistic gravity at the accuracy better than the effects of the second order in the gravitational field strength, ~G^2. The Laser Astrometric Test Of Relativity…
Modern applications of strong gravitational lensing require the ability to use precise and varied observational data to constrain complex lens models. I discuss two sets of computational methods for lensing calculations. The first is a new…
High resolution MERLIN observations of a newly-discovered four-image gravitational lens system, B0128+437, are presented. The system was found after a careful re-analysis of the entire CLASS dataset. The MERLIN observations resolve four…
ASTROD (Astrodynamical Space Test of Relativity using Optical Devices) is a mission concept with three spacecraft -- one near L1/L2 point, one with an inner solar orbit and one with an outer solar orbit, ranging coherently with one another…
All powered spacecraft experience residual systematic acceleration due to anisotropy of the thermal radiation pressure and fuel leakage. The residual acceleration limits the accuracy of any test of gravity that relies on the precise…
The recent study of the strong gravitational lens ESO 325-G004 [1] leads to a new possibility for testing General Relativity and its extensions. Such gravity lens observational studies can be instrumental for establishing a limitation on…
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…