Abstract
A new general relativistic many-body effect is described. It results in an unexpectedly large relative acceleration between neighboring test particles that follow an inclined orbit about a rotating mass. The effect vanishes if the orbit coincides with the equatorial plane of the rotating mass. The existence of this effect is due to a small divisor involving the deviation of the orbital frequency measured by a comoving clock from the frequency measured by an inertial clock. The influence of the rotation of the Sun on the Earth-Moon system is investigated, and it is shown that the new effect causes a harmonic variation in the Earth-Moon separation with an amplitude of order 1 m and dominant periods of 18.6 yr, ∼1/2 yr, 1 month, and ∼1/2 month. The confirmation of these results by the lunar laser ranging experiment would provide a significant new test of general relativity and a measurement of the angular momentum of the Sun.
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