Constraining spacetime torsion with LAGEOS

TL;DR

This paper investigates how spacetime torsion affects the Lense-Thirring effect and demonstrates how LAGEOS satellite data can be used to set experimental constraints on torsion parameters, complementing other experiments like Gravity Probe B.

Contribution

It derives equations of motion incorporating spacetime torsion and shows how satellite measurements can constrain torsion parameters, providing new experimental bounds.

Findings

LAGEOS data constrains torsion parameters effectively.

Spacetime torsion modifies the orbital frame-dragging effect.

LAGEOS and Gravity Probe B provide complementary torsion constraints.

Abstract

We compute the corrections to the orbital Lense-Thirring effect (or frame-dragging) in the presence of spacetime torsion. We derive the equations of motion of a test body in the gravitational field of a rotating axisymmetric massive body, using the parametrized framework of Mao, Tegmark, Guth and Cabi. We calculate the secular variations of the longitudes of the node and of the pericenter. We also show how the LAser GEOdynamics Satellites (LAGEOS) can be used to constrain torsion parameters. We report the experimental constraints obtained using both the nodes and perigee measurements of the orbital Lense-Thirring effect. This makes LAGEOS and Gravity Probe B (GPB) complementary frame-dragging and torsion experiments, since they constrain three different combinations of torsion parameters.