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The PARCS experiment will use a laser-cooled cesium atomic clock operating in the microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station to provide both advanced tests of gravitational theory to demonstrate a new cold-atom clock technology for space.
A theory of microemulsions developed previously is extended to include the effect of a gravitational field. It predicts variation with position of drop size, drop volume fraction, and area per molecule in the surfactant films within a microemulsion phase. Variation in volume fraction is greatest and occurs in such a way that oil content increases with increasing elevation, as has been found experimentally. Large composition variations are predicted within a middle phase microemulsion near optimal conditions because inversion from the water-continuous to the oil-continuous arrangement occurs with increasing elevation. Generally speaking, gravity reduces solubilization within microemulsions and promotes separation of excess phases.
We challenge a widely accepted assumption of observational cosmology: that successful reconstruction of observed galaxy density fields from measured galaxy velocity fields (or vice versa), using the methods of gravitational instability theory, implies that the observed large-scale structures and large-scale flows were produced by the action of gravity. This assumption is false, in that there exist nongravitational theories that pass the reconstruction tests and gravitational theories with certain forms of biased galaxy formation that fail them. Gravitational instability theory predicts specific correlations between large-scale velocity and mass density fields, but the same correlations arise in any model where (a) structures in the galaxy distribution grow from homogeneous initial conditions in a way that satisfies the continuity equation, and (b) the present-day velocity field is irrotational and proportional to the time-averaged velocity field. We demonstrate these assertions using analytical arguments and N-body simulations. If large-scale structure is formed by gravitational instability, then the ratio of the galaxy density contrast to the divergence of the velocity field yields an estimate of the density parameter Omega (or, more generally, an estimate of beta identically equal to Omega(exp 0.6)/b, where b is an assumed constant of proportionality between galaxy and mass density fluctuations. In nongravitational scenarios, the values of Omega or beta estimated in this way may fail to represent the true cosmological values. However, even if nongravitational forces initiate and shape the growth of structure, gravitationally induced accelerations can dominate the velocity field at late times, long after the action of any nongravitational impulses. The estimated beta approaches the true value in such cases, and in our numerical simulations the estimated beta values are reasonably accurate for both gravitational and nongravitational models. Reconstruction tests that show correlations between galaxy density and velocity fields can rule out some physically interesting models of large-scale structure. In particular, successful reconstructions constrain the nature of any bias between the galaxy and mass distributions, since processes that modulate the efficiency of galaxy formation on large scales in a way that violates the continuity equation also produce a mismatch between the observed galaxy density and the density inferred from the peculiar velocity field. We obtain successful reconstructions for a gravitational model with peaks biasing, but we also show examples of gravitational and nongravitational models that fail reconstruction tests because of more complicated modulations of galaxy formation.
It is shown that squeezed states of primordial gravitational waves are inevitably produced in the course of cosmological evolution. The theory of squeezed gravitons is very similar to the theory of squeezed light. Squeezed parameters and statistical properties of the expected relic gravity-wave radiation are described.
A new theory of gravitational shocking based on time-dependent perturbation theory shows that the changes in energy and angular momentum due to a slowly varying disturbance are not exponentially small for stellar dynamical systems in general. It predicts significant shock heating by slowly varying perturbations previously thought to be negligible according to the adiabatic criterion. The theory extends the scenarios traditionally computed only with the impulse approximation and is applicable to a wide class of disturbances. The approach is applied specifically to the problem of disk shocking of star clusters.
Malin's (1975) gravitational theory, which was recently shown by Lindblom and Nester (1975) to be incorrect, is modified by means of a recently proposed method for obtaining viable gravitational theories. The resulting self-consistent theory, which is in effect a Rastall-type modification of the Einstein theory, exhibits nonconservation of momentum, yet agrees with all experimental limits known to date within the post-Newtonian approximation framework.
A scale covariant kinetic theory for particles and photons is developed. The mathematical framework of the theory is given by the tangent bundle of a Weyl manifold. The Liouville equation is derived, and solutions to corresponding equilibrium distributions are presented and shown to yield thermodynamic results identical to the ones obtained previously. The scale covariant theory is then used to derive results of interest to stellar structure and evolution. A radiative transfer equation is derived that can be used to study stellar evolution with a variable gravitational constant. In addition, it is shown that the sun's absolute luminosity scales as L approximately equal to GM/kappa, where kappa is the stellar opacity. Finally, a formula is derived for the age of globular clusters as a function of the gravitational constant using a previously derived expression for the absolute luminosity.
Elementary particle theory for describing gravitation - Lorentz invariance - Graviton as boson
A complete derivation of the geopotential function and its gradient is presented. Also included is the transformation of Laplace's equation from Cartesian to spherical coordinates. The analytic solution to Laplace's equation is obtained from the transformed version, in the classical manner of separating the variables. A cursory introduction to the method devised by Pines, using direction cosines to express the orientation of a point in space, is presented together with sample computer program listings for computing the geopotential function and the components of its gradient. The use of the geopotential function is illustrated.
Brans-Dicke theory of gravitational scalar field effect on structure of neutron cold spherical stellar model analyzed and compared with relativity theory
Gravitational radiation can be used to test theories of gravitation. When the waves are ultimately detected directly, their speed and polarization properties can be measured and compared with predictions of alternative theories. The multipole nature of gravitational radiation was already tested in the binary pulsar, where observations of the decay of the orbit verify the quadrupole formula for gravitational radiation damping of general relativity and put strong constraints on dipole gravitational radiation predicted by many alternative theories.
The roots of rice seedlings, growing in artificial pond water, exhibit robust gravitropic curvature when placed perpendicular to the vector of gravity. To determine whether the statolith theory (in which intracellular sedimenting particles are responsible for gravity sensing) or the gravitational pressure theory (in which the entire protoplast acts as the gravity sensor) best accounts for gravity sensing in rice roots, we changed the physical properties of the external medium with impermeant solutes and examined the effect on gravitropism. As the density of the external medium is increased, the rate of gravitropic curvature decreases. The decrease in the rate of gravicurvature cannot be attributed to an inhibition of growth, since rice roots grown in 100 Osm/m3 (0.248 MPa) solutions of different densities all support the same root growth rate but inhibit gravicurvature increasingly with increasing density. By contrast, the sedimentation rate of amyloplasts in the columella cells is unaffected by the external density. These results are consistent with the gravitational pressure theory of gravity sensing, but cannot be explained by the statolith theory.
Gravity induces a polarity of cytoplasmic streaming in vertical internodal cells of Chara such that the downwardly directed stream moves faster than the upwardly directed stream. In order to determine whether the statolith theory (in which intracellular sedimenting particles are responsible for gravity sensing) or the gravitational pressure theory (in which the entire protoplast acts as the gravity sensor) best explain the gravity response in Chara internodal cells, we controlled the physical properties of the external medium, including density and osmolarity, with impermeant solutes and examined the effect on the polarity of cytoplasmic streaming. As the density of the external medium is increased, the polarity of cytoplasmic streaming decreases and finally disappears when the density of the external medium is equal to that of the cell (1015 kg/m3). A further increase in the density of the external medium causes a reversal of the gravity response. These results are consistent with the gravitational pressure theory of gravity sensing since the buoyancy of the protoplast is dependent on the difference between the density of the protoplast and the external medium, and are inconsistent with the statolith theory since the buoyancy of intracellular particles are unaffected by changes in the external medium.
A theoretical framework for testing theories of gravitation is considered. This framework separates theories into those that are viable and those that are nonviable by sending each through a series of tests. Most of these tests compare the theory's predictions with the results of experiment, but one test judges each theory's completeness, self-consistency and agreement with Newtonian physics at lowest order. Only a few theories, including general relativity, are currently viable, that is, pass all five tests in the framework. Einstein's 1912 theory is also ruled out because it predicts only half the observed time-delay effect. Future tests proposed include improvements of old experiments and a number of new experiments.
Peebles's 'cosmic virial theorem' is extended from its original range of validity at small separations, where hydrostatic equilibrium holds, to large separations, in which linear gravitational stability theory applies. The rms pairwise velocity difference at separation r is shown to depend on the spatial galaxy correlation function xi(x) only for x less than r. Gravitational instability theory can therefore be tested by comparing the two up to the maximum separation for which both can reliably be determined, and there is no dependence on the poorly known large-scale density and velocity fields. With the expected improvement in the data over the next few years, however, this method should yield a reliable determination of omega.
A self-consistent method of introducing spin into any Lagrangian based theory of gravitation was developed. The metric variation of the Lagrangian in the theory leads to an improved energy-momentum tensor which represents the source term in the gravitational field equations. The goal of the research is the construction of a theory general enough to be used to investigate spin effects in astrophysical objects and cosmology, and also to serve as a basis for discussion of the theoretical ideas tested by the NASA Gyroscope Experiment (aboard Gravity Probe B). Specific accomplishments in the following areas are summarized: the inclusion of electromagnetism into the variational principle for spinning matter, formulation of a self-consistent theory for the case of a fluid in which particle production processes occur, and the derivation of the Raychaudhuri equation in the case of spinning matter.
Within the framework of a scale-covariant theory of gravitation, a semiclassical description of particles and photons is given. Thermodynamic relations consistent with the modified conservation equations are derived. Application to a system of radiation shows that the observed 3-K background radiation can be interpreted, within the present framework, as a remnant of equilibrium radiation in the past. As the theory postulates a nonstandard coupling between gravitation and electrodynamics, the assumption that Einstein's theory of gravitation is unchanged forces modifications at the atomic level. The use of Minkowskian spacetime in atomic physics is found to be adequate only over small, but not large, time scales compared with the age of the universe. As a result, a relation between energy and the frequency of a free photon is demonstrated. Possible observational consequences of this relation are discussed.
Theoretical models are presented for guiding the application of gravitational lenses to probe the characteristics of dark matter in the universe. Analytical techniques are defined for quantifying the mass associated with lensing galaxies (in terms of the image separation), determining the quantity of dark mass of the lensing bodies, and estimating the mass density of the lenses. The possibility that heavy halos are made of low mass stars is considered, along with the swallowing of central images of black holes or cusps in galactic nuclei and the effects produced on a lensed quasar image by nonbaryonic halos. The observable effects of dense groups and clusters and the characteristics of dark matter strings are discussed, and various types of images which are possible due to lensing phenomena and position are described.