General relativity and satellite orbits: The motion of a test particle in the Schwarzschild metric

The motion of a satellite with negligible mass in the Schwarzschild metric is treated as a problem in Newtonian physics. The relativistic equations of motion are formally identical with those of the Newtonian case of a particle moving in the ordinary inverse-square law field acted upon by a disturbing function which varies asr ^?3. Accordingly, the relativistic motion is treated with the methods of celestial mechanics. The disturbing function is expressed in terms of the Keplerian elements of the orbit and substituted into Lagrange's planetary equations. Integration of the equations shows that a typical Earth satellite with small orbital eccentricity is displaced by about 17 cm from its unperturbed position after a single orbit, while the periodic displacement over the orbit reaches a maximum of about 3 cm. Application of the equations to the planet Mercury gives the advance of the perihelion and a total displacement of about 85 km after one orbit, with a maximum periodic displacement of about 13 km.     

Post-Newtonian satellite orbits

The first post-Newtonian approximation of general relativity is used to account for the motion of solar system bodies and near-Earth objects which are slow moving and produce weak gravitational fields. The \(n\)-body relativistic equations of motion are given by the Einstein-Infeld-Hoffmann equations. For \(n=2\), we investigate the associated dynamics of two-body systems in the first post-Newtonian approximation. By direct integration of the associated planar equations of motion, we deduce a new expression that characterises the orbit of test particles in the first post-Newtonian regime generalising the well-known Binet equation for Newtonian mechanics. The expression so obtained does not appear to have been given in the literature and is consistent with classical orbiting theory in the Newtonian limit. Further, the accuracy of the post-Newtonian Binet equation is numerically verified by comparing secular variations of known expression with the full general relativistic orbit equation.     

Anisotropic Fluid Distribution in Bimetric Theory of Relativity

In this paper we have presented a procedure to obtain exact analytical solutions of field equations for spherically symmetric self-gravitating distribution of anisotropic matter in bimetric theory of gravitation. The solution agrees with the Einstein's general relativity for a physical system compared to the size of universe such as the solar system. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Charged fluid sphere in bimetric general theory of relativity

Static and spherical symmetric solutions of the field equations in the bimetric general theory of gravitation are obtained for perfect and anisotropic charged fluids under the assumption that the physical metric admits a one-parameter group of conformal motion. All solutions are matched to the Reissner–Nordstrom metric and possess positive energy density larger than the stresses, everywhere within the sphere. The solution agrees with Einstein’s general relativity for a physical system comparable to the size of the universe, such as the solar system.     

On Relativistic Equations of Motion of an Earth Satellite

For numerical integration of the geocentric equations of motion of Earth satellites in the general relativity framework one may choose now between rather simple equations involving in their relativistic dynamical part only the Earth-induced terms and very complicated equations taking into account the relativistic third-body action. However, it is possible quite easily to take into account the relativistic indirect third-body perturbations and to neglect much lesser direct third-body perturbations. Such approach is based on the use of the Newtonian third-body perturbations in geocentric variables with expressing them in the relativistic manner in terms of the barycentric arguments. Together with it, to extend the known results for the spheroid model of the Earth, the Earth-induced terms are treated in great detail by including the non-spin part of the Earth vector-potential and the Earth triaxial non-sphericity.This revised version was published online in October 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Anisotropic fluid distributions in bimetric general relativity

Static and spherically-symmetric solutions of the field equations in the bimetric theory of gravitation are obtained for isotropic and anisotropic distributions of matter when the physical metric admits a one-parameter group of conformal motions. The solutions agree with Einstein's general relativity for physical systems comparable to the size of the Universe, such as the solar system.     

Pseudo-Newtonian models for the equilibrium structures of rotating relativistic stars

We obtain equilibrium solutions for rotating compact stars, including special relativistic effects. The gravity is assumed to be Newtonian, but we use the active mass density, which takes into account all energies such as the motion of the fluid, internal energy and pressure energy in addition to the rest-mass energy, in computing the gravitational potential using Poisson's equation. Such a treatment could be applicable to neutron stars with relativistic motions or a relativistic equation of state. We applied Hachisu's self-consistent field (SCF) method to find spheroidal as well as toroidal sequences of equilibrium solutions. Our solutions show better agreement with general relativistic solutions than the Newtonian relativistic hydrodynamic approach, which does not take into account the active mass. Physical quantities such as the peak density and equatorial radii in our solutions agree with the general relativistic ones to within 5 per cent. Therefore our approach can be used as a simple alternative to the fully relativistic one when a large number of model calculations is necessary, as it requires much fewer computational resources.     

The relativistic dynamics of a thin spherically symmetric radiating shell in the presence of a central body

We construct an idealized spherically symmetric relativistic model of an exploding object within the framework of the theory of surface layers in GR. A Vaidya solution for a radially radiating star is matched through a spherical shell of dust to a Schwarzschild solution. The (incomplete) equations for the motion of the spherical shell of dust and the radiation density of the Vaidya solution, as given by the matching conditions, are reduced to a first-order system and a general analysis of the characteristics of the motion is given. This system of differential equations is completed, adding a relation between the unknowns which represents the simplest way to avoid an unphysical singularity in the motion. The results of a numerical integration of the equations are presented in two cases which we think may have some relationship to stellar explosions. A comparative set of results for other solutions is also given, and some possible generalizations of the model are pointed out.     

Waves in general relativistic two-fluid plasma around a Schwarzschild black hole

Waves propagating in the relativistic electron-positron or ions plasma are investigated in a frame of two-fluid equations using the 3+1 formalism of general relativity developed by Thorne, Price and Macdonald (TPM). The plasma is assumed to be freefalling in the radial direction toward the event horizon due to the strong gravitational field of a Schwarzschild black hole. The local dispersion relations for transverse and longitudinal waves have been derived, in analogy with the special relativistic formulation as explained in an earlier paper, to take account of relativistic effects due to the event horizon using WKB approximation.     

Geodesics and geodesic deviation in static charged black holes

The radial motion along null geodesics in static charged black hole space–times, in particular, the Reissner–Nordström and stringy charged black holes, are studied. We analyzed the properties of the effective potential. The circular photon orbits in these space–times are investigated. We found that the radius of circular photon orbits in both charged black holes are different and differ from that given in Schwarzschild space–time. We studied the physical effects of the gravitational field between two test particles in stringy charged black hole and compared the results with that given in Schwarzschild and Reissner–Nordström black holes.     

Planar Symmetric Periodic Orbits in Four Dipole Problem

We have extend Stormer’s problem considering four magnetic dipoles in motion trying to justify the phenomena of extreme “orderlines” such as the ones observed in the rings of Saturn; the aim is to account the strength of the Lorentz forces estimating that the Lorentz field, co-acting with the gravity field of the planet, will limit the motion of all charged particles and small size grains with surface charges inside a layer of about 200 m thickness as that which is observed in the rings of Saturn. For this purpose our interest feast in the motion of charged particles with neglected mass where only electromagnetic forces accounted in comparison to the weakness of the Newtonian fields. This study is particularly difficult because in the regions we investigate these motions there is enormous three dimensional instability. Following the Poincare’s hypothesis that periodic solutions are ‘dense’ in the set of all solutions in Hamiltonian systems we try to calculate many families of periodic solutions and to study their stability. In this work we prove that in this environment charged particles can trace planar symmetric periodic orbits. We discuss these orbits in details and we give their symplectic relations using the Hamiltonian formulation which is related to the symplectic matrix. We apply numerical procedures to find families of these orbits and to study their stability. Moreover we give the bifurcations of these families with families of planar asymmetric periodic orbits and families of three dimensional symmetric periodic orbits.     

Uniform radial motion of sound in a relativistic fluid ball

We present a new class of spherically symmetric exact solutions of the general relativistic field equations. These solutions describe perfect fluid balls with infinite central pressure and central density though their ratio is finite. A member of the class has been studied in detail from which we have constructed a model of causal fluid ball with constant sound speed.     

Exact cylindrically symmetric solutions in Rastall theory of gravity

In this paper, we explore some exact cylindrically symmetric solutions in the context of Rastall theory of gravity. For this purpose, we consider the general form of a metric in the cylindrical Weyl coordinates. The modified field equations are developed in the presence of charge. In particular, we try to recover the well-known Levi–Civita’s static cylindrically symmetric solution in the framework of Rastall gravity. The graphical behavior of energy density and pressure component is presented along with the discussion of energy conditions. Finally, the solutions in the context of general relativity are discussed. It is concluded that Levi–Civita’s static cylindrically symmetric charged solutions do exist in Rastall theory of gravity.     

Test-particle motion in superposed Weyl fields

In a previous paper (Paper I), several superposed Weyl solutions of Einstein equations were investigated that might have some astrophysical relevance. We drew the gravitational field lines in the superposed space–times and the distortions of the Schwarzschild event horizon induced by the additional matter. Here we are concerned with the motion of free test particles in the same fields. In particular, the influence of the parameters (mass and location) of the additional sources on the positions of important circular equatorial geodesics is studied.     

The rotational motion of an earth orbiting gyroscope according to the Einstein theory of general relativity

The classical Poisson equations of rotational motion are used to study the attitude motions of an Earth orbiting, rapidly spinning gyroscope perturbed by the effects of general relativity (Einstein theory). The center of mass of the gyroscope is assumed to move about a rotating oblate Earth in an evolving elliptic orbit which includes all first-order oblateness effects produced by the Earth.A method of averaging is used to obtain a transformation of variables, for the nonresonance case, which significantly simplifies the Poisson differential equations of motion of the gyroscope. Longterm solutions are obtained by an exact analytical integration of the simplified transformed equations. These solutions may be used to predict both the orientation of the gyroscope and the motion of its rotational angular momentum vector as viewed from its center of mass. The results are valid for all eccentricities and all inclinations not near the critical inclination.This paper represents a part of the author's Ph. D. dissertation for the Mathematics Department, Auburn University.     

Astronomical measurements and coordinate conditions in relativistic celestial mechanics

Determination of dynamical effects from the equations of motion and calculation of ephemerides in terms of measurable quantities on the basis of the equations of light should be performed in one and the same coordinate system. The choice of coordinate system is arbitrary. For illustration we consider coplanar circular motions of the Earth and one of the inner planets in the solar gravitational field described by the generalized three-parametric Schwarzschild metric. Specific values of the metric parameters characterize the adopted gravitational theory, as well as a definite coordinate system (for example, isotropic or standard coordinates). Coordinates of the planets and radii of the orbits are coordinate-dependent quantities and cannot be directly reconciled with measurable quantities such as the round-trip transit times of radar signals or the angular distance between the planet and the distant fixed source (quasar). These ephemeris data may be calculated in terms of the initial measured values independently of the employed coordinate system. Relativistic ephemeris corrections should be taken into account both in radar reflection measurements and astrometric observations.     

Motion of test particles in parabolic density distributions

A detailed study of the motion of test-particles [either having a nonzero rest-mass or zero rest-mass] has been carried out for Tolman's type VII solution with vanishing surface density, which is one of the few physically relevant exact solutions of Einstein's field equations for static and spherically symmetric mass distributions.The trapping angles, 0, at which the test-particles escape these configurations are calculated and the trajectories of test-particles are studied in detail. The types of trajectories found for this spacetime geometry are: (1) arc-like trajectories, (2) spiral-like trajectories ending into a circle of constant radius, (3) trajectories with a cusp at the minimum distance, (4) double-bounded trajectories, and (5) double-bounded trajectories with a cusp at the minimum distance. The test-particles following the trajectories of type (1) and type (3) escape the configuration while others are trapped within the structure. Besides the advancement of periastron of the orbits the retrogradation of periastrons are also observed.The stability of the structures is considered by using the variational method (Chandrasekhar, 1964a,b), and its is seen that the structures remain stable at least for a central redshift,z0, as large as 5.09.These studies may distinguish relativistic cluster from a Newtonian one and may find application to the local models of quasi-stellar objects (QSOs).     

Treatment of pulsating white dwarfs including general relativistic effects

In this paper, pulsating white dwarfs are treated via general relativity. Numerical integration of Einstein's equations was used to find equilibrium white dwarfs models and the fundamental periods of small oscillations about these equilibrium models. In these calculations account was taken of coulomb, Thomas-Fermi, and exchange interactions as well as ion zero point energies. It is shown that general relativity makes not just a quantitative difference in the results but a qualitative differences; pure C¹² models which are stable in Newtonian mechanics can be unstable against collapse (at a central density of 3×10¹⁰ g/cm³) when general relativity is taken into account. The collapsing model may become a neutron star or may continue towards the Schwarzschild radius.More realistic white dwarf models with carbon burning products at the center, also were studied. For these models, the density at which the star becomes unstable against collapse due to electron capture (3×10⁹ g/cm³) was found to be lower than the density at which general relativistic instability occurs.     

The plane trajectories of spin particles in the Schwarzschild field

Plane motions of spin particles in the Schwarzschild field are investigated. Cases of parallel transport of spin tensor (PTS) and of geodesic motion (GM) as well as of the motion under additional Pirani (PC) and Dixon (DC) conditions are considered. Using these assumptions analogues of the Binnet formula are obtained. In the case of PTS and PS the stability of circular orbits the way Liapunov interprets it is examined.