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Gamma Astrometric Measurement Experiment: testing General Relativity with a small mission

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2007

A. Vecchiato
Affiliation:
INAF- Astronomical Observatory of Torino, via Osservatorio 20, I-10025, Pino Torinese (TO), Italy email: [email protected]
M. G. Lattanzi
Affiliation:
INAF- Astronomical Observatory of Torino, via Osservatorio 20, I-10025, Pino Torinese (TO), Italy email: [email protected]
M. Gai
Affiliation:
INAF- Astronomical Observatory of Torino, via Osservatorio 20, I-10025, Pino Torinese (TO), Italy email: [email protected]
R. Morbidelli
Affiliation:
INAF- Astronomical Observatory of Torino, via Osservatorio 20, I-10025, Pino Torinese (TO), Italy email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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GAME (Gamma Astrometric Measurement Experiment) is a concept for an experiment whose goal is to measure from space the γ parameter of the Parameterized Post-Newtonian formalism, by means of a satellite orbiting at 1 AU from the Sun and looking as close as possible to its limb. This technique resembles the one used during the solar eclipse of 1919, when Dyson, Eddington and collaborators measured for the first time the gravitational bending of light. Simple estimations suggest that, possibly within the budget of a small mission, one could reach the 10−6 level of accuracy with ~106 observations of relatively bright stars at about 2° apart from the Sun. Further simulations show that this result could be reached with only 20 days of measurements on stars of V ≤ 17 uniformly distributed. A quick look at real star densities suggests that this result could be greatly improved by observing particularly crowded regions near the galactic center.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2008

References

Loreggia, D., Gai, M., Lattanzi, M. G., & Vecchiato, A. 2008, in this volume, p.274CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soffel, M. 1989, Relativity in Astrometry, Celestial Mechanics and Geodesy (Springer-Verlag, Astronomy and Astrophysics Library series)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vecchiato, A., Lattanzi, M. G., Bucciarelli, B., Crosta, M., de Felice, F. & Gai, M. 2003, A&A, 399, 337Google Scholar