Related papers: Astronomy and the new SI
Fundamental constants are a cornerstone of the physical laws. Any constant varying in space and/or time would signal a violation of local position invariance and be associated with a violation of the universality of free fall, and hence of…
The days of the lone astronomer with his optical telescope and photographic plates are long gone: Astronomy in 2025 will not only be multi-wavelength, but multi-messenger, and dominated by huge data sets and matching data rates. Catalogues…
A comparison of the standard models in particle physics and in cosmology demonstrates that they are not compatible, though both are well established. Basics of modern cosmology are briefly reviewed. It is argued that the measurements of the…
Planck units are natural physical scales of mass, length and time, built with the help of the fundamental constants $\hbar, c, G$. The functional role of the constants used for the construction of Planck units is different. If the first two…
Let m(i) be the mass of i-th planet and M be the Solar mass. From astronomical data it is known that ratios r(i)=m(i)/(m(i)+M) are of order 10^(-3)-10^(-6) for all planets. The same is true for all satellites of heavy planets. These results…
Gravitational waves (GWs) from compact binary coalescences have matured into a robust cosmological probe, providing self-calibrated luminosity distance measurements independent of any cosmic distance ladder, hence the term "standard…
The past few years have seen several breakthroughs in particle astrophysics and cosmology. In several cases, new observations can only be explained with the introduction of new fundamental physics. In this talk I summarize some of these…
Newtonian Cosmology is commonly used in astrophysical problems, because of its obvious simplicity when compared with general relativity. However it has inherent difficulties, the most obvious of which is the non-existence of a well-posed…
Our conventional system of physical units is based on local or microscopic {\it dimensional} quantities which are {\it defined}, for convenience or otherwise aesthetic reasons, to be spacetime-independent. A more general choice of units may…
The Satellite Test of the Equivalence Principle (STEP) will advance experimental limits on violations of Einstein's Equivalence Principle from their present sensitivity of 2 parts in $10^{13}$ to 1 part in $10^{18}$ through multiple…
The atomic transitions employed in the best of today's optical clocks are a strong foundation for the upcoming redefinition of the SI second. Including multiple transitions in the definition offers increased accuracy, a robust diversity of…
The recent fit of cosmological parameters by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration will have a significant impact on our understanding of the universe. Given its importance, we conduct several consistency checks and…
Breakthroughs in physics and astrophysics are often driven by technological advances, with the recent detection of gravitational waves being one such example. This white paper focuses upon how improved astrometric and spectroscopic…
The cosmological standard model at present is widely accepted as containing mainly things we do not understand. In particular the appearance of a Cosmological Constant, or dark energy, is puzzling. This was first inferred from the Hubble…
The Stellar Imager (SI) is a UV-Optical, Space-Based Interferometer designed to enable 0.1 milli-arcsecond (mas) spectral imaging of stellar surfaces and of the Universe in general and asteroseismic imaging of stellar interiors. SI is…
We discuss different sets of defining constants, fixed values of which are considered in connection with the transition to new definitions of four SI units (the kilogram, the mole, the ampere, and the kelvin). The notion of constant's order…
Recent astronomical observations verify the new scenario resulting from new conservation laws and a new relativity principle fixed either by dual properties of light or by new gravitational (G) tests and the Einstein's equivalence…
There are at least four unexplained anomalies connected with astrometric data. Perhaps the most disturbing is the fact that when a spacecraft on a flyby trajectory approaches the Earth within 2000 km or less, it often experiences a change…
The fields of Astronomy and Astrophysics are technology limited, where the advent and application of new technologies to astronomy usher in a flood of discoveries altering our understanding of the Universe (e.g., recent cases include LIGO…
Data volumes from multiple sky surveys have grown from gigabytes into terabytes during the past decade, and will grow from terabytes into tens (or hundreds) of petabytes in the next decade. This exponential growth of new data both enables…