Related papers: Extended-body effects and rocket-free orbital mane…
Free-fall is only approximately universal in general relativity. Different extended bodies can fall in different ways, depending on their internal dynamics. Nevertheless, certain aspects of their motion are universal. This paper examines…
The "external" or "bulk" motion of extended bodies is studied in general relativity. Compact material objects of essentially arbitrary shape, spin, internal composition, and velocity are allowed as long as there is no direct…
We study the dynamics of extended test bodies in flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetimes. It is shown that such objects can usually alter their inertial mass, spin, and center-of-mass trajectory purely through the use of internal…
The motion of an extended body up to the quadrupolar structure is studied in the Schwarzschild background following Dixon's model and within certain restrictions (constant frame components for the spin and the quadrupole tensor, center of…
The influence of an arbitrary spin orientation on the quadrupolar structure of an extended body moving in a Schwarzschild spacetime is investigated. The body dynamics is described by the Mathisson-Papapetrou-Dixon model, without any…
A global model is presented that can be used to study attitude maneuvers of a rigid spacecraft in a circular orbit about a large central body. The model includes gravity gradient effects that arise from the non-uniform gravity field and…
We investigate the problem of determining the shape of a rotating celestial object - e.g., a comet or an asteroid - under its own gravitational field. More specifically, we consider an object symmetric with respect to one axis - such as a…
A formalism is described that greatly simplifies the derivation of scalar, electromagnetic, and gravitational self-forces and self-torques acting on extended bodies in curved spacetimes. Commonly-studied aspects of these effects are…
Orbit-attitude hovering of a spacecraft at the natural relative equilibria in the body-fixed frame of a uniformly rotating asteroid is discussed in the framework of the full spacecraft dynamics, in which the spacecraft is modeled as a rigid…
The features of equatorial motion of an extended body in Kerr spacetime are investigated in the framework of the Mathisson-Papapetrou-Dixon model. The body is assumed to stay at quasi-equilibrium and respond instantly to external…
We investigate the gravitational Aharonov-Bohm effect, by placing a quantum system in free-fall around a gravitating body {\it e.g.} a satellite orbiting the Earth. Since the system is in free-fall, by the equivalence principle, the quantum…
The post-Newtonian orbital effects induced by the mass quadrupole and spin octupole moments of an isolated, oblate spheroid of constant density that is rigidly and uniformly rotating on the motion of a test particle are analytically worked…
Concept of curvature of liquid surrounding a spherical surface seems obvious in daily life, but based on earthly conditions everywhere. However, our understanding about the concept seems more transparent when we keep the system out of the…
Owing to Earth's rotation a free-fall body would move in an elliptical orbit rather than along a straight line forward to the center of the Earth. In this paper on the basis of the theory for spin-spin coupling between macroscopic rotating…
Bodies with the nonspherical tensor of inertia exhibit a variety of rotational motion patterns, including chaotic motion, stable periodic (quasi-periodic) rotation, unstable rotation around the direction close to the body's second principal…
The paper contributes towards the development of a unified control approach for longitudinal aircraft dynamics with large flight envelopes. Prior to the control design, we analyze the existence and the uniqueness of the equilibrium…
Different extended objects can fall in different ways, depending on their internal structures. Some motions are nevertheless impossible, regardless of internal structure. This paper derives universal constraints on extended-body motion,…
When a solid body is freely rotating at an angular velocity ${\bf \Omega}$, the ellipsoid of constant angular momentum, in the space $\Omega_1, \Omega_2, \Omega_3$, has poles corresponding to spinning about the minimal-inertia and…
The "reaction" of an extended body to the passage of an exact plane gravitational wave is discussed following Dixon's model. The analysis performed shows several general features, e.g. even if initially absent, the body acquires a spin…
As the velocity of a rocket in a circular orbit near a black hole increases, the outwardly directed rocket thrust must increase to keep the rocket in its orbit. This feature might appear paradoxical from a Newtonian viewpoint, but we show…