The Spacetime Metric

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Everitt and colleagues report Gravity Probe B’s measurements of geodetic precession and frame dragging using four cryogenic gyroscopes in a 642 km polar Earth orbit. Their joint analysis gives drift rates of −6601.8 ± 18.3 and −37.2 ± 7.2 milliarcseconds per year, respectively, compared with general relativity’s predictions of −6606.1 and −39.2. The uncertainties combine statistical and systematic contributions. Superconducting readout tracked the gyroscopes relative to the guide star IM Pegasi during eleven months of science observations. Unexpected electrostatic patch torques and evolving rotor motion required calibration and trapped-flux mapping. Independent gyroscope analyses and a second geometric method provided cross-checks, yielding reported accuracies of 0.28% for the geodetic effect and 19% for frame dragging.

Gravity Probe B: Final Results of a Space Experiment to Test General Relativity

  1. C. W. F. Everitt(Author)
  2. D. B. DeBra(Author)
  3. B. W. Parkinson(Author)
  4. J. P. Turneaure(Author)
  5. J. W. Conklin(Author)
  6. M. I. Heifetz(Author)
  7. G. M. Keiser(Author)
  8. A. S. Silbergleit(Author)
  9. T. Holmes(Author)
  10. J. Kolodziejczak(Author)
  11. M. Al-Meshari(Author)
  12. J. C. Mester(Author)
  13. B. Muhlfelder(Author)
  14. V. Solomonik(Author)
  15. K. Stahl(Author)
  16. P. Worden(Author)
  17. W. Bencze(Author)
  18. S. Buchman(Author)
  19. B. Clarke(Author)
  20. A. Al-Jadaan(Author)
  21. H. Al-Jibreen(Author)
  22. J. Li(Author)
  23. J. A. Lipa(Author)
  24. J. M. Lockhart(Author)
  25. B. Al-Suwaidan(Author)
  26. M. Taber(Author)
  27. S. Wang(Author)

Publication and identifiers

Work type
Paper
Year
2011
Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Edition
arXiv:1105.3456v1 author manuscript
Identifiers
Original source links

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Original title
Gravity Probe B: Final Results of a Space Experiment to Test General Relativity
Attribution
  1. C. W. F. Everitt(Author)
  2. D. B. DeBra(Author)
  3. B. W. Parkinson(Author)
  4. J. P. Turneaure(Author)
  5. J. W. Conklin(Author)
  6. M. I. Heifetz(Author)
  7. G. M. Keiser(Author)
  8. A. S. Silbergleit(Author)
  9. T. Holmes(Author)
  10. J. Kolodziejczak(Author)
  11. M. Al-Meshari(Author)
  12. J. C. Mester(Author)
  13. B. Muhlfelder(Author)
  14. V. Solomonik(Author)
  15. K. Stahl(Author)
  16. P. Worden(Author)
  17. W. Bencze(Author)
  18. S. Buchman(Author)
  19. B. Clarke(Author)
  20. A. Al-Jadaan(Author)
  21. H. Al-Jibreen(Author)
  22. J. Li(Author)
  23. J. A. Lipa(Author)
  24. J. M. Lockhart(Author)
  25. B. Al-Suwaidan(Author)
  26. M. Taber(Author)
  27. S. Wang(Author)
Year
2011
Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Edition
arXiv:1105.3456v1 author manuscript
Identifiers
Original source links