Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: On August 22, 2014, the satellites GSAT-0201 and GSAT-0202 of the European GNSS Galileo were unintentionally launched into eccentric orbits. Unexpectedly, this has become a fortunate scientific opportunity since the onboard hydrogen masers allow for a sensitive test of the redshift predicted by the theory of general relativity. In the present Letter, we describe an analysis of approximately three years of data from these satellites including three different clocks. For one of these, we determine the test parameter quantifying a potential violation of the combined effects of the gravitational redshift and the relativistic Doppler shift. The uncertainty of our result is reduced by more than a factor 4 as compared to the values of Gravity Probe A obtained in 1976.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Authors: Sven Herrmann, Felix Finke, Martin Lülf, Olga Kichakova, Dirk Puetzfeld, Daniela Knickmann, Meike List, Benny Rievers, Gabriele Giorgi, Christoph Günther, Hansjörg Dittus, Roberto Prieto-Cerdeira, Florian Dilssner, Francisco Gonzalez, Erik Schönemann, Javier Ventura-Traveset, Claus Lämmerzahl
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2902325430