New limits on the violation of local position invariance of gravity

2013/07/10 by Lijing Shao, Norbert Wex · 52 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Anisotropy #Astrophysics #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Classical mechanics #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Gravitation #Mathematical physics #Neutron star #Physics #Pulsar #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Quantum mechanics #astro-ph.SR #gr-qc

paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0264-9381/30/16/165020

published in Classical and Quantum Gravity 30(16), 165020 (IOP Publishing) · 13 pages, 4 figures; accepted by Classical and Quantum Gravity

arxiv created 2013/07/10 · openalex publication_date 2013/07/26 · arxiv updated 2013/08/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06

Abstract

Within the parameterized post-Newtonian (PPN) formalism, there could be an anisotropy of local gravity induced by an external matter distribution, even for a fully conservative metric theory of gravity. It reflects the breakdown of the local position invariance of gravity and, within the PPN formalism, is characterized by the Whitehead parameter ξ. We present three different kinds of observation, from the Solar system and radio pulsars, to constrain it. The most stringent limit comes from recent results on the extremely stable pulse profiles of solitary millisecond pulsars, that gives (95% CL), where the hat denotes the strong-field generalization of ξ. This limit is six orders of magnitude more constraining than the current best limit from superconducting gravimeter experiments. It can be converted into an upper limit of ∼4 × 10 −16 on the spatial anisotropy of the gravitational constant. Communicated by C M Will

Citations

• New tests of local Lorentz invariance of gravity with small-eccentricity binary pulsars
• Atom-Interferometry Tests of the Isotropy of Post-Newtonian Gravity
• The Five-Hundred-Meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) Project
• Lunar Laser Ranging: A Continuing Legacy of the Apollo Program
• New experimental limit on the validity of local position invariance
• Upper Limit for the Anisotropy of Inertial Mass from Nuclear Resonance Experiments
• Neutron Star Structure and the Equation of State
• Signals for Lorentz violation in post-Newtonian gravity
• A search for anisotropy of inertia
• The INPOP10a planetary ephemeris and its applications in fundamental physics
• Report of the IAU Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements: 2009
• Matter-gravity couplings and Lorentz violation
• The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment
• Equivalence Principle for Massive Bodies. II. Theory
• Atom interferometry tests of local Lorentz invariance in gravity and electrodynamics
• The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment

Cited by

• Pulsars as probes of gravity and fundamental physics