PT5 - Testing gravitation theories in space |
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Speaker |
Iorio, Lorenzo |
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Coauthors |
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| Talk Title |
The Solar Lense-Thirring Effect and BepiColombo |
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Abstract |
We analytically calculate the time series for the perturbations induced by a general disturbing acceleration on the mutual range and range-rate of two test particles orbiting the same spinning body. We apply it to the general relativistic Lense-Thirring effect, due to the primary's spin, and the classical perturbation arising from its quadrupole mass moment for arbitrary orbital geometries and orientation of the source's symmetry axis. The Earth-Mercury range and range-rate are nominally affected by the Sun's gravitomagnetic field to the 10 m, 10^-3 cm s^-1 level, respectively, during the extended phase (2026-2028) of the forthcoming BepiColombo mission to Mercury whose expected tracking accuracy is of the order of 0.1 m, 2 X 10^-4 cm s^-1. The competing signatures due to the solar quadrupole, if modelled at the $10^-9 level of the latest planetary ephemerides INPOP17a, are nearly 10 times smaller than the relativistic gravitomagnetic effects. |
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