The Flyby Anomaly and the Gravitational-Magnetic Field Induced Frame-Dragging Effect around the Earth

TL;DR

This paper proposes that the Earth's magnetic field modifies general relativistic frame-dragging effects, potentially explaining the flyby anomaly by matching observed velocity changes during Earth flybys.

Contribution

It introduces a model coupling Earth's gravitational and magnetic fields to explain the flyby anomaly, predicting velocity changes consistent with observations.

Findings

Predicted velocities match observed anomalies within error margins.

The model accounts for the linear distance relation and time variation of the anomaly.

High altitude flybys show reduced anomalous velocities as explained by the model.

Abstract

The anomalous energy difference observed during the Earth flybys is modelled here as a dynamical effect resulting from the coupling of the gravitational and the magnetic fields of the Earth. The theoretical analysis shows that general relativistic frame-dragging can become modified under the Earth's magnetic field by orders of magnitude. For twelve flyby cases, including the null results reported in some recent flybys, the predicted velocities correspond to the observed velocities within the observational error. The gravito-magnetic effect is also shown to account for the linear distance relation, time-variation of the anomalous energy, and the reduction in the anomalous velocity for high altitude flybys near the Earth.