SMuK 2021 – scientific programme

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GR: Fachverband Gravitation und Relativitätstheorie

GR 7: Experimental tests

GR 7.4: Talk

Thursday, September 2, 2021, 11:45–12:00, H9

The secret of planets perihelion between Newton and Einstein — •Christian Corda — Istituto Livi, via Marini 9, 59100 Prato, Italy

It is shown show that,contrary to a longstanding conviction older than 160 years, the advance of Mercury perihelion can be achieved in Newtonian gravity with a very high precision by correctly analyzing the situation without neglecting Mercury mass. General relativity remains more precise than Newtonian physics, but Newtonian framework is more powerful than researchers and astronomers were thinking till now, at least for the case of Mercury. The Newtonian formula of the advance of planets perihelion breaks down for the other planets. The predicted Newtonian result is indeed too large for Venus and Earth. Therefore, it is also shown that corrections due to gravitational and rotational time dilation, in an intermediate framework which analyzes gravity between Newton and Einstein, solve the problem. By adding such corrections, a result consistent with the one of general relativity is indeed obtained. Thus, the most important results of this Lecture are two: (i) It is not correct that Newtonian theory cannot predict the anomalous rate of precession of the perihelion of planets orbit. The real problem is instead that a pure Newtonian prediction is too large. (ii) Perihelion precession can be achieved with the same precision of general relativity by extending Newtonian gravity through the inclusion of gravitational and rotational time dilation effects.