LATOR Covariance Analysis

الأصل · EN

We present results from a covariance study for the proposed Laser Astrometric Test of Relativity (LATOR) mission. This mission would send two laser-transmitter spacecraft behind the Sun and measure the relative gravitational light bending of their signals using a hundred-meter-baseline optical interferometer to be constructed on the International Space Station. We assume that each spacecraft is equipped with a < 1.9 × 10⁻¹³ m s² Hz⁻¹/² drag-free system and assume approximately one year of data. We conclude that the observations allow a simultaneous determination of the orbit parameters of the spacecraft and of the Parametrized Post-Newtonian (PPN) parameter γ with an uncertainty of 2.4 × 10⁻⁹. We also find a 6 × 10⁻⁹ determination of the solar quadrupole moment, J₂, as well as the first measurement of the second-order post-PPN parameter δ to an accuracy of about 10⁻³.