Anomalous Spacecraft Acceleration (Pioneer Effect)  

In General > s.a. Conformal Gravity; tests of general relativity with orbits.
* 2001: Seen in Pioneer 10/11 data, value aP = (8.74 1.25) 10–8 cm/s2, directed toward the Sun.
* 2002–2004: Blueshift of frequency of (5.99 0.01) 10–9 Hz/s, interpreted as an additional acceleration (8.74 1.33) 10–8 and (8.60 1.34) 10–8 cm/s2, no consensus yet on explanation despite a persistent interest.
* 2005: Older Pioneer tracking data will be reanalyzed in search of earlier signs of this effect.
* 2007: The cause remains unknown, although radiant heat remains a likely origin; Improved bounds on violations of Newton's second law.
* 2008: Anomaly of 13 mm/s seen in NEAR asteroid rendezvous spacecraft; JPL scientists working on analysis of Rosetta spacecraft.
* Objects in which it has been seen: Pioneer 10 & 11 spacecraft, NASA's Galileo and the joint ESA-NASA Ulysses spacecraft; But not on the Voyaget 1 & 2, because they are three-axis stabilized, as opposed to spin-stabilized, and their thrusters introduce additional accelerations that overwhelm this tiny effect (and also not on planets or minor planets!); NEAR.
@ Overviews: Martin Nieto et al gq/04-in [and tests]; Turyshev et al pw(04)sep, gq/05-in, gq/05-in, IJMPD(06)gq/05; Martin Nieto & Anderson CQG(05)gq [and early data], CP(07)-a0709 [rev]; Reynaud & Jaekel gq/06 [and modified gravity]; Martin Nieto epn(06)gq/07; Turyshev ps(07); de Diego a0807-in; de Diego & Núñez a0807-in.
@ Analysis: Anderson et al PRL(98)gq + pn(98)sep, PRD(02)gq/01; Turyshev et al gq/99-in; Markwardt gq/02/PRD; Toth & Turyshev gq/06 [status]; Unzicker & Schmidle gq/07 [code for quick check]; Turyshev & Toth a0710-in, a0710.
@ And other objects: Iorio & Giudice NA(06)gq [not for outer planets], gq/06-in [Lense-Thirring for MGS, and outer planets], gq/06 [Uranus, Neptune, and Voyager 2]; Iorio JGPO(07)-a0712 [Jupiter and Saturn]; news pn(08)feb [NEAR asteroid rendevous spacecraft].
@ Proposed tests: Anderson et al IJMPD(02)gq; Martin Nieto & Turyshev CQG(04)gq/03; Rathke ap/04-in [Pluto orbiter]; Turyshev et al gq/04-in; Bertolami & Páramos gq/04-in [rev], IJMPD(07)gq-in [mission]; Page et al ap/05/ApJ [using minor planets]; Izzo & Rathke JSR(06)ap/05 [options]; Dittus et al gq/05-in; Martin Nieto PLB(08)-a0710 [New Horizons].

Proposed Explanations
@ General references: Anderson et al PRL(99)gq, PRL(99)gq [responses]; Mbelek & Lachièze-Rey gq/99/PRD [scalar field]; Crawford ap/99/PRL [interactions of traveling signals]; Rosales FP(06)qp/05 [cosmological geometric phase]; Tangen PRD(07)gq/06 [motion is non-geodesic].
@ Heat, radiation: Katz PRL(99)gq/98; Murphy PRL(99)gq/98; Scheffer PRD(03)gq/01, gq/01 [anisotropic]; news S&T(08)apr.
@ Kuiper Belt gravity: de Diego et al IJMPD(06)ap/05; Martin Nieto PRD(05)ap, Bertolami & Vieira CQG(06)ap/05 [no].
@ Other conventional physics: Guruprasad ap/99 [gravitational tides on spacecraft]; Østvang CQG(02)gq/99 [coordinates]; Anderson et al MPLA(02)gq/01; Ostermann gq/02 [not non-conventional]; Anderson & Mashhoon PLA(03)gq [not helicity-rotation coupling]; Mbelek & Michalski IJMPD(04)gq/03; Mbelek gq/04 [gr + quintessence]; Quevedo gq/05-in [not solar quadrupole moment]; Martin Nieto et al PLB(05)ap [not interplanetary matter]; Hall PLB(07) [charge drag].
@ Modified gravity: Moffat gq/04, Brownstein & Moffat CQG(06)gq/05 [non-symmetric], comment Iorio gq/06; Jaekel & Reynaud in(06)gq/05, comment Iorio gq/06, gq/06 [2 scale-dependent constants]; Trencevski & Celakoska gq/06 [t-dependent potential]; Iorio FP(07)gq/06 [and planets]; Exirifard a0708 [covariant correction]; Avramidi & Fucci a0802 [matrix gravity, non-commutative].
@ Other new physics: de Souza gq/01, gq/01 [discrete fields]; Foot & Volkas PLB(01)hp [mirror matter]; Belayev gq/02, Tsipenyuk & Belayev gq/03 [5D physics]; Bertolami & Páramos CQG(04)gq/03 [bimetric theory on brane]; Krogh ap/04 ["quantum mechanical theory of gravity"]; Anania & Makoid ap/05/AP [bending of gravity]; Carmeli et al IJTP(06)gq/05 [and minimal acceleration]; ten Boom gq/05; Mbelek et al EPL(07)ap/06 [non-linear electrodynamics]; McCulloch MNRAS(07)ap/06 [modified inertia]; Castro FP(07) [scalar for Weyl invariance]; Tomilchik a0704 [kinematical effect of conformal invariance]; Zaveri a0709 [proper time drift].
@ Change in c: Ellman gq/98; Rañada EPL(03)gq/02, gq/04.
@ Cosmology: Rosales & Sánchez-Gómez gq/98; Rosales gq/02; Nottale gq/03 [cosmological constant]; Rosales gq/04 [Berry phase]; Rañada FP(04)gq, Rañada & Tiemblo gq/06 [clock acceleration], a0804 [quantum cosmology and clock desynchronization]; Palle APS(05)ap/04; Trencevski GRG(05)gq/04; Oliveira gq/06-IJTP; Fahr & Siewert gq/06; Scholz ap/07/PRD; Lachièze-Rey CQG(07)gq [no]; > s.a. test-body orbits.

Related Topics > s.a. Flyby Anomalies.
@ References: Defrere & Rathke gq/05-in [and gravitational wave detection]; Turyshev AJP(05) [problem set]; Letter and reply Morris AJP(06), Turyshev et al AJP(06); Hodge ap/06 [scalar potential model]; Mäkelä a0710 [hypothesis based on numerical coincidence].

Online Resources > see the Planetary Society page.


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