Drag force on solar sails due to absorption of solar radiation |
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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 consider a special relativistic effect, known as the Poynting–Robertson effect, on various types of trajectories of solar sails. Since this effect occurs at order v?/c, where v? is the transversal speed relative to the sun, it can dominate over other special relativistic effects, which occur at order v2/c2. While solar radiation can be used to propel the solar sail, the absorbed portion of it also gives rise to a drag force in the transversal direction. For escape trajectories, this diminishes the cruising velocity, which can have a cumulative effect on the heliocentric distance. For a solar sail directly facing the sun in a bound orbit, the Poynting–Robertson effect decreases its orbital speed, thereby causing it to slowly spiral towards the sun. We also consider this effect for non-Keplerian orbits in which the solar sail is tilted in the azimuthal direction. While in principle the drag force could be counter-balanced by an extremely small tilt of the solar sail in the polar direction, periodic adjustments are more feasible. |
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Keywords: | Solar sails Poynting&ndash Robertson effect |
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