Pioneer Anomaly and the Helicity-Rotation Coupling

TL;DR

This paper investigates the potential influence of helicity-rotation coupling on the Pioneer anomaly and concludes that this effect does not account for the observed anomaly in spacecraft data.

Contribution

It clarifies that helicity-rotation coupling does not explain the Pioneer anomaly, refining the understanding of possible causes of the observed spacecraft acceleration.

Findings

Helicity-rotation coupling does not affect Pioneer spacecraft signals.

The Pioneer anomaly cannot be attributed to helicity-rotation effects.

The study rules out a specific electromagnetic coupling as the cause of the anomaly.

Abstract

The modification of the Doppler effect due to the coupling of the helicity of the radiation with the rotation of the source/receiver is considered in the case of the Pioneer 10/11 spacecraft. We explain why the Pioneer anomaly is not influenced by the helicity-rotation coupling.