Abstract
The status of experimental tests of general relativity and of theoretical frameworks for analyzing them is reviewed. Einstein’s equivalence principle (EEP) is well supported by experiments such as the Eötvös experiment, tests of special relativity, and the gravitational redshift experiment. Ongoing tests of EEP and of the inverse square law are searching for new interactions arising from unification or quantum gravity. Tests of general relativity at the post-Newtonian level have reached high precision, including the light deflection, the Shapiro time delay, the perihelion advance of Mercury, and the Nordtvedt effect in lunar motion. Gravitational wave damping has been detected in an amount that agrees with general relativity to better than half a percent using the Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar, and other binary pulsar systems have yielded other tests, especially of strong-field effects. When direct observation of gravitational radiation from astrophysical sources begins, new tests of general relativity will be possible.
Highlights
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This proposal dovetailed with earlier hints of a deviation from the inverse-square law of Newtonian gravitation derived from measurements of the gravity profile down deep mines in Australia, and with emerging ideas from particle physics suggesting the possible presence of very low-mass particles with gravitational-strength couplings
Since Jupiter is moving relative to the solar system, and since gravity propagates with a finite speed, the gravitational field experienced by the light ray should be affected by gravity’s speed, since the field experienced at one time depends on the location of the source a short time earlier, depending on how fast gravity propagates
Summary
At the time of the birth of general relativity (GR), experimental confirmation was almost a side issue. The Genesis (1887 – 1919) comprises the period of the two great experiments which were the foundation of relativistic physics – the Michelson–Morley experiment and the Eotvos experiment – and the two immediate confirmations of GR – the deflection of light and the perihelion advance of Mercury Following this was a period of Hibernation (1920 – 1960) during which theoretical work temporarily outstripped technology and experimental possibilities, and, as a consequence, the field stagnated and was relegated to the backwaters of physics and astronomy. Strong-field, highly-dynamical regime associated with the formation and dynamics of these objects In this Living Review, we shall survey the theoretical frameworks for studying experimental gravitation, summarize the current status of experiments, and attempt to chart the future of the subject. References to TEGP will be by chapter or section, e.g., “TEGP 8.9 [281]”
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