Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 261101 (2004) [4 pages]Progress in Lunar Laser Ranging Tests of Relativistic GravityReceived 1 September 2004; published 29 December 2004 Analyses of laser ranges to the Moon provide increasingly stringent limits on any violation of the equivalence principle (EP); they also enable several very accurate tests of relativistic gravity. These analyses give an EP test of Δ(MG/MI)EP=(-1.0±1.4)×10-13. This result yields a strong equivalence principle (SEP) test of Δ(MG/MI)SEP=(-2.0±2.0)×10-13. Also, the corresponding SEP violation parameter η is (4.4±4.5)×10-4, where η=4β-γ-3 and both β and γ are post-Newtonian parameters. Using the Cassini γ, the η result yields β-1=(1.2±1.1)×10-4. The geodetic precession test, expressed as a relative deviation from general relativity, is Kgp=-0.0019±0.0064. The search for a time variation in the gravitational constant results in G˙/G=(4±9)×10-13 yr-1; consequently there is no evidence for local (∼1 AU) scale expansion of the solar system. © 2004 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.261101
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.261101
PACS:
04.80.Cc, 95.10.Eg, 95.55.Pe, 96.20.Jz
See AlsoComment: Yurii V. Dumin, Comment on “Progress in Lunar Laser Ranging Tests of Relativistic Gravity”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 059001 (2007). Reply: James G. Williams, Slava G. Turyshev, and Dale H. Boggs, Williams, Turyshev, and Boggs Reply:, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 059002 (2007). |
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