{"title":"Tests of Gravity Using Lunar Laser Ranging","authors":"Stephen M. Merkowitz","doi":"10.12942/lrr-2010-7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Lunar laser ranging (LLR) has been a workhorse for testing general relativity over the past four decades. The three retroreflector arrays put on the Moon by the Apollo astronauts and the French built arrays on the Soviet Lunokhod rovers continue to be useful targets, and have provided the most stringent tests of the Strong Equivalence Principle and the time variation of Newton’s gravitational constant. The relatively new ranging system at the Apache Point 3.5 meter telescope now routinely makes millimeter level range measurements. Incredibly, it has taken 40 years for ground station technology to advance to the point where characteristics of the lunar retroreflectors are limiting the precision of the range measurements. In this article, we review the gravitational science and technology of lunar laser ranging and discuss prospects for the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":686,"journal":{"name":"Living Reviews in Relativity","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":26.3000,"publicationDate":"2010-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.12942/lrr-2010-7","citationCount":"70","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Living Reviews in Relativity","FirstCategoryId":"101","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.12942/lrr-2010-7","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PHYSICS, PARTICLES & FIELDS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 70
Abstract
Lunar laser ranging (LLR) has been a workhorse for testing general relativity over the past four decades. The three retroreflector arrays put on the Moon by the Apollo astronauts and the French built arrays on the Soviet Lunokhod rovers continue to be useful targets, and have provided the most stringent tests of the Strong Equivalence Principle and the time variation of Newton’s gravitational constant. The relatively new ranging system at the Apache Point 3.5 meter telescope now routinely makes millimeter level range measurements. Incredibly, it has taken 40 years for ground station technology to advance to the point where characteristics of the lunar retroreflectors are limiting the precision of the range measurements. In this article, we review the gravitational science and technology of lunar laser ranging and discuss prospects for the future.
期刊介绍：
Living Reviews in Relativity is a peer-reviewed, platinum open-access journal that publishes reviews of research across all areas of relativity. Directed towards the scientific community at or above the graduate-student level, articles are solicited from leading authorities and provide critical assessments of current research. They offer annotated insights into key literature and describe available resources, maintaining an up-to-date suite of high-quality reviews, thus embodying the "living" aspect of the journal's title.
Serving as a valuable tool for the scientific community, Living Reviews in Relativity is often the first stop for researchers seeking information on current work in relativity. Written by experts, the reviews cite, explain, and assess the most relevant resources in a given field, evaluating existing work and suggesting areas for further research.
Attracting readers from the entire relativity community, the journal is useful for graduate students conducting literature surveys, researchers seeking the latest results in unfamiliar fields, and lecturers in need of information and visual materials for presentations at all levels.
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