Gravity fall of light: An outline of a general relativity test

Eduardo Díaz-Miguel
Phys. Rev. D 69, 027101 – Published 30 January 2004
PDFExport Citation

Abstract

We have found the following general relativity (GR) result: when a light ray is emitted and travels in a (nearly) uniform gravitational field g, its parabolic trajectory is that of one that would be traced by a massive Newtonian particle in a field three times greater, 3g. So, if a photon departs from a point on the Earth’s surface, with an initial horizontal direction, and goes over a distance ΔL[(ΔL/R)1], its linear vertical deflection is ΔHGR=32[g(ΔL)2/c2]. The Newtonian result would be three times smaller. That is to say, the principle of equivalence is responsible for one-third of the vertical deflection. We think that this remarkable difference deserves research into the possibility of a GR test based on the vertical fall of terrestrial light.

  • Received 14 July 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.69.027101

©2004 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Eduardo Díaz-Miguel

  • Departamento de Física Aplicada I, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain

Comments & Replies

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 69, Iss. 2 — 15 January 2004

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review D

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×