Bound orbits of solar sails and general relativity |
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Authors: | Roman Ya Kezerashvili Justin F Vázquez-Poritz |
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Institution: | Physics Department, New York City College of Technology, The City University of New York, 300 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA; The Graduate School and University Center, The City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA |
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Abstract: | We study general relativistic effects on the bound orbits of solar sails. The combined effects of spacetime curvature and solar radiation pressure (SRP) lead to deviations from Kepler’s third law. Such kind of deviations also arise from frame dragging, the gravitational multipole moments of the sun, a net electric charge on the sun, and a positive cosmological constant. The SRP increases these deviations by several orders of magnitude, possibly rendering some of them detectable. We consider how the SRP modifies the perihelion shift of non-circular orbits, as well as the Lense-Thirring effect involving the precession of polar orbits. We investigate how the pitch angle for non-Keplerian orbits changes due to the partial absorption of light, general relativistic effects, and the oblateness of the sun. It is predicted that there is an analog of the Lense-Thirring effect for non-Keplerian orbits, in that the orbital plane precesses around the sun. We also consider the Poynting–Robertson effect and show that this effect can, in principle, be compensated for by an extremely small tilt of the solar sail. |
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Keywords: | Solar sails General relativity Lense-Thirring effect Poynting&ndash Robertson effect |
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