A possible explanation for the anomalous acceleration of Pioneer 10

TL;DR

The paper proposes that the anomalous acceleration of Pioneer 10 can be explained by gravitational effects on the signals caused by interplanetary dust, leading to a frequency shift interpreted as acceleration.

Contribution

It introduces a novel explanation for Pioneer 10's anomaly based on gravitational interaction with interplanetary dust affecting signal frequency.

Findings

Frequency shift proportional to distance and dust density

Explains the apparent acceleration as a Doppler effect

Links signal curvature to interplanetary dust density

Abstract

The reported anomalous acceleration of the Pioneer 10 spacecraft of -8.5X10^{-10} m/s^2 (i.e. towards the sun) can be explained by a gravitational interaction on the S-band signals traveling between Pioneer 10 and the earth. The effect of this gravitational interaction is a frequency shift that is proportional to the distance and the square root of the density of the medium in which it travels. If changes in this frequency are interpreted as a Doppler shift the result is an apparent acceleration directed towards the sun. The gravitational interaction is caused by the focusing of the signal photons in curved space where in this case the curvature is related by the density of the interplanetary dust.