The confrontation between general relativity and experiment

We review the experimental evidence for Einstein’s general relativity. Tests of the Einstein equivalence principle support the postulates of curved space-time and bound variations of fundamental constants in space and time, while solar system experiments strongly confirm weak-field general relativity. The binary pulsar provides tests of gravitational wave damping and of strong-field general relativity. Future experiments, such as the gravity probe B gyroscope experiment, a satellite test of the equivalence principle, and tests of gravity at short distance to look for extra spatial dimensions could further constrain alternatives to general relativity. Laser Interferometric Gravitational Wave Observatories on Earth and in space may provide new tests of scalar-tensor gravity and graviton-mass theories via the properties of gravitational waves.     

Equivalence principles exotica

This is a short review of the different principles of equivalence stated and used in the context of the gravitational interaction. We emphasize the need for precision in stating and differentiating these different equivalence principles, especially in the context of prevalent confusion regarding the applicability of the weak equivalence principle in quantum mechanics. We discuss several empirical results pertaining to the validity of the equivalence principle in exotic physical sitautions not directly amenable to experimental tests. We conclude with a section on the physical basis of the universal validity of the equivalence principle, as manifest in the universality of free fall, and discuss its link to cosmic gravity.      

Deterrents to a Theory of Quantum Gravity

As shown previously, quantum mechanics directly violates the weak equivalence principle in general, and thus indirectly violates the strong equivalence principle in all dimensions. The present paper shows that quantum mechanics also directly violates the strong equivalence principle unless it is arbitrarily abetted in hindsight. Vital domains are shown to exist in which quantum gravity would be non-applicable. There are classical subtleties in which the strong equivalence principle appears to be violated, but is not. Neutron free fall interference experiments in a gravitational field are examined, as is Galileo's falling body assertion and the misconception it leads to.     

Axiomatization of Special Relativity in First Order Logic

The axiomatization of physical theories is a fundamental issue of science. The first-order axiomatic system SpecRel for special relativity proposed recently by Andréka et al. is not enough to explain all the main results in the theory, including the twin paradox and energy-mass relation. In this paper, from a four-dimensional space-time perspective, we introduce the concepts of world-line, proper time and four-momentum to our axiomatic system SpecRel⁺. Then we introduce an axiom of mass (AxMass) and take four-momentum conservation as an axiom (AxCFM) in SpecRel⁺. It turns out that the twin paradox and energy-mass relation can be derived from SpecRel⁺ logically. Hence, as an extension of SpecRel, SpecRel⁺ is a suitable first-order axiomatic system to describe the kinematics and dynamics of special relativity.     

Equivalence principle and electromagnetic field: no birefringence,no dilaton,and no axion

The coupling of the electromagnetic field to gravity is discussed. In the premetric axiomatic approach based on the experimentally well established conservation laws of electric charge and magnetic flux, the Maxwell equations are the same irrespective of the presence or absence of gravity. In this sense, one can say that the charge “substratum” and the flux “substratum” are not influenced by the gravitational field directly. However, the interrelation between these fundamental substrata, formalized as the spacetime relation H = H(F) between the 2-forms of the electromagnetic excitation H and the electromagnetic field strength F, is affected by gravity. Thus the validity of the equivalence principle for electromagnetism depends on the form of the spacetime relation. We discuss the nonlocal and local linear constitutive relations and demonstrate that the spacetime metric can be accompanied also by skewon, dilaton, and axion fields. All these premetric companions of the metric may eventually lead to a violation of the equivalence principle.     

狭义相对论解决双生子佯谬之不可能

详细地阐明了狭义相对论解决双生子佯谬之不可能，对一种很有影响的狭义相对论解进行了深入细致的分析     

双生子问题

采用爱因斯坦例子在狭义相对论范畴讨论双生子效应,然后利用直红运动常加速度内禀刚性加速系进一步严格讨论。     

Kinematics in matrix gravity

We develop the kinematics in Matrix Gravity, which is a modified theory of gravity obtained by a non-commutative deformation of General Relativity. In this model the usual interpretation of gravity as Riemannian geometry is replaced by a new kind of geometry, which is equivalent to a collection of Finsler geometries with several Finsler metrics depending both on the position and on the velocity. As a result the Riemannian geodesic flow is replaced by a collection of Finsler flows. This naturally leads to a model in which a particle is described by several mass parameters. If these mass parameters are different then the equivalence principle is violated. In the non-relativistic limit this also leads to corrections to the Newton’s gravitational potential. We find the first and second order corrections to the usual Riemannian geodesic flow and evaluate the anomalous nongeodesic acceleration in a particular case of static spherically symmetric background.     

Einstein's First Steps Toward General Relativity: Gedanken Experiments and Axiomatics

Jahrbuch paper is an extraordinary document because it contains his first steps toward generalizing the 1905 relativity theory to include gravitation. Ignoring the apparent experimental disconfirmation of the 1905 relativity theory and his unsuccessful attempts to generalize the mass-energy equivalence, Einstein boldly raises the mass-energy equivalence to an axiom, invokes equality between gravitational and inertial masses, and then postulates the equivalence between a uniform gravitational field and an oppositely directed constant acceleration, the equivalence principle. How did this come about? What is at issue is scientific creativity. This necessitates broadening historical analysis to include aspects of cognitive science such as the role of visual imagery in Einstein's thinking, and the relation between conscious and unconscious modes of thought in problem solving. This method reveals the catalysts that sparked a Gedanken experiment that occurred to Einstein while working on the Jahrbuch paper. A mental model is presented to further explore Einstein's profound scientific discovery.     

等效原理空间实验检验

等效原理地面实验检验已经达到了10-13,为了进一步提高实验精度,寻找新的相互作用和检验引力理论,人们提出了一系列更高精度等效原理检验的卫星计划.文章主要概述了等效原理空间检验的原理、发展历史和发展现状,并对进一步空间等效原理检验进行了简要展望.     

Test of the equivalence principle in space

Summary Any violation of the equivalence principle (EP) between test masses in the near-Earth orbit is about 500 times bigger than on the ground, which makes the case for a space experiment very strong. Indeed, ESA and NASA (the European Space Agency and the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration) are currently studying at Phase A level the space mission STEP, whose main goal is to test the universality of free fall to 1 part in 10¹⁷ by means of a combination of very advanced technologies (drag free with proportional thrusters, superfluid-He temperature, SQUID sensors). We discuss the key features of STEP as well as some novel ideas about the possibility of testing the equivalence principle at room temperature in a non-drag-free satellite. Paper presented at the 6th Cosmic Physics National Conference, Palermo, 3–7 November 1992.     

Hidden Symmetries for Thermodynamics and Emergence of Relativity

Erik Verlinde recently proposed an idea about the thermodynamic origin ofgravity. Though this is a beautiful idea, which may resolve many longstanding problems in the theories of gravity, it also raises many otherproblems. In this article I will comment on some of the problems ofVerlinde's proposal with special emphasis on the thermodynamical originof the principle of relativity. It is found that there is a large group of hiddensymmetries of thermodynamics, which contains the Poincare group of thespacetime for which space is emergent. This explains the thermodynamicorigin of the principle of relativity.     

Apparent violation of the principle of equivalence and killing horizons

By means of the principle of equivalence we deduce the qualitative behavior of the Schwarzschild horizon about a uniformly accelerating particle. This result is confirmed for an exact solution of a uniformly accelerating object in the limit of small accelerations. For large accelerations the Schwarzschild horizon appears to violate the qualitative behavior established via the principle of equivalence. When similar arguments are extended to an observable such as the red shift between two observers, there is no departure from the results expected from the principle of equivalence. The resolution of the paradox is brought about by a compensating effect due to the Rindler horizon.Work supported in part by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Grant No. NSG-7639.     

Clocks and the Equivalence Principle

Einsteins equivalence principle has a number of problems, and it is often applied incorrectly. Clocks on the earth do not seem to be affected by the suns gravitational potential. The most commonly accepted reason given is a faulty application of the equivalence principle. While no valid reason is available within either the special or general theories of relativity, ether theories can provide a valid explanation. A clock bias of the correct magnitude and position dependence can convert the Selleri transformation of ether theories into an apparent Lorentz transformation, which gives rise to an apparent equivalence of inertial frames. The results indicate that the special theory is invalid and that only an apparent relativity exists.     

Radiation from a uniformly accelerated charge

The electromagnetic field associated with a uniformly accelerated charge is studied in some detail. The equivalence principle paradox that the co-accelerating observer measures no radiation while a freely falling observer measures the standard radiation of an accelerated charge is resolved by noting that all the radiation goes into the region of space time in-accessible to the co-accelerating observer.     

Nordström’s scalar theory of gravity and the equivalence principle

General Relativity obeys the three equivalence principles, the “weak” one (all test bodies fall the same way in a given gravitational field), the “Einstein” one (gravity is locally effaced in a freely falling reference frame) and the “strong” one (the gravitational mass of a system equals its inertial mass to which all forms of energy, including gravitational energy, contribute). The first principle holds because matter is minimally coupled to the metric of a curved spacetime so that test bodies follow geodesics. The second holds because Minkowskian coordinates can be used in the vicinity of any event. The fact that the latter, strong, principle holds is ultimately due to the existence of superpotentials which allow to define the inertial mass of a gravitating system by means of its asymptotic gravitational field, that is, in terms of its gravitational mass. Nordström’s theory of gravity, which describes gravity by a scalar field in flat spacetime, is observationally ruled out. It is however the only theory of gravity with General Relativity to obey the strong equivalence principle. I show in this paper that this remarkable property is true beyond post-newtonian level and can be related to the existence of a “Nordström-Katz” superpotential.     

The stability of fundamental constants

The tests of the constancy of fundamental constants are tests of the local position invariance and thus of the equivalence principle, at the heart of general relativity. After summarising the links between fundamental constants, gravity, cosmology and metrology, a brief overview of the observational and experimental constraints on their variation is proposed.     

黑洞与奇点

黑洞可以说是引力最极端的体现，其视界内是个连光也逃不出去的时空区域。近来黑洞在天 文观测方面取得令人惊讶的发展，这其中包括：黑洞碰撞的引力波探测以及M87 星系的超大质量 黑洞的所谓第一张黑洞照片。但是在理论的层面上，黑洞物理尚有许多未解之谜。其中，信息遗失 的悖论是最有名的。但是，有另一个问题至少和信息的丢失一样{甚至更加{令人费解的，就是黑洞 内部的奇点性质。时空奇点是广义相对论本身无法描述的，在那里究竟发生什么事？黑洞内部的奇 点和宇宙大爆炸时的奇点有何不同？奇点是否会裸露在黑洞外面？所谓“宇宙监督猜想”的假设目 前有何进展？我们在这篇半科普的文章中简单的介绍这些课题，希望本文章对物理和数学的本科生 有所帮助。     

Quantum mechanics in noninertial reference frames: Violations of the nonrelativistic equivalence principle

In previous work we have developed a formulation of quantum mechanics in non-inertial reference frames. This formulation is grounded in a class of unitary cocycle representations of what we have called the Galilean line group, the generalization of the Galilei group that includes transformations amongst non-inertial reference frames. These representations show that in quantum mechanics, just as is the case in classical mechanics, the transformations to accelerating reference frames give rise to fictitious forces. A special feature of these previously constructed representations is that they all respect the non-relativistic equivalence principle, wherein the fictitious forces associated with linear acceleration can equivalently be described by gravitational forces. In this paper we exhibit a large class of cocycle representations of the Galilean line group that violate the equivalence principle. Nevertheless the classical mechanics analogue of these cocycle representations all respect the equivalence principle.     

Spin-Spin Interactions in Gauge Theory of Gravity, Violation of Weak Equivalence Principle and New Classical Test of General Relativity

For a long time, it has been generally believed that spin-spin interactions can only exist in a theory where Lorentz symmetry is gauged, and a theory with spin-spin interactions is not perturbatively renormalizable. But this is not true. By studying the motion of a spinning particle in gravitational field, it is found that there exist spin-spin interactions in gauge theory of gravity. Its mechanism is that a spinning particle will generate gravitomagnetic field in space-time, and this gravitomagnetic field will interact with the spin of another particle, which will cause spin-spin interactions. So, spin-spin interactions are transmitted by gravitational field. The form of spin-spin interactions in post Newtonian approximations is deduced. This result can also be deduced from the Papapetrou equation. This kind of interaction will not affect the renormalizability of the theory. The spin-spin interactions will violate the weak equivalence principle, and the violation effects are detectable. An experiment is proposed to detect the effects of the violation of the weak equivalence principle.