SMuK 2021 – scientific programme

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GR: Fachverband Gravitation und Relativitätstheorie

GR 2: Classical GR-1

GR 2.3: Talk

Tuesday, August 31, 2021, 12:00–12:15, H6

General Relativistic Geodesy — •Claus Lämmerzahl and Volker Perlick — ZARM, University of Bremen

Geodesy in a Newtonian framework is based on the Newtonian potential. The general relativistic gravitational field, however, possesses more degrees of freedom. Accordingly, the full gravitational field of a stationary source can be decomposed into two scalar potentials and a tensorial spatial metric, which together serve as basis of a general relativistic geodesy. One of the scalar potentials is a generalization of the Newtonian potential while the second is related to the rotational degree of freedom of gravitating masses for which no non-relativistic counterpart exists. The operational realizations of these two potentials are discussed, as well as of the spatial metric. For analytically given space-times the two potentials are exemplified and their relevance for practical geodesy on Earth are discussed.