Bremen 2017 – scientific programme

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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 8: Symposium Fundamental Physics in Space

EP 8.4: Invited Talk

Wednesday, March 15, 2017, 15:30–16:00, SFG 0140

Promises and challenges of Gaia astrometry — •Sergei Klioner — Lohrmann-Observatory, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany

ESA's second space astrometry mission Gaia was launched in December 2013 and after an extended commissioning period started its scientific operations in July 2014. During its routine science operations Gaia has already delivered an immense data set of high-accuracy positional observations. In spite of some unexpected difficulties with the instrument, Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium published the first Gaia Data Release in September 2016 and is working towards the second Gaia Data Release in the first half of 2018.

High-accuracy astrometric survey being made by Gaia opens a new window for specific research in the field of fundamental physics. This research window ranges from weak-field tests of General Relativity and its foundations in the gravitational field of the solar system to estimates of energy flux for gravitational wave background in certain frequency domains. These promises of space astrometry will be critically reviewed. The interrelation between astrometric solution, the resulting reference frame and the assumptions on fundamental physical laws made during data processing will be discussed.