Tuesday, April 16, 2019

general relativity - How do you calculate the anomalous precession of Mercury?


One of the three classic tests of general relativity is the calculation of the precession of the perihelion of Mercury's orbit.


This precession rate had been precisely measured using data collected since the 1600's, and it was later found that Newton's theory of gravity predicts a value that differs from the observed value. That difference, which I am calling the anomalous precession, was estimated to be about 43 arcseconds per century in Einstein's time.


I have heard that general relativity predicts an additional correction that is almost exactly sufficient to account for that 43"/century difference, but I've never seen that calculation done, at least not correctly. Can anyone supply the details?



Answer



A very detailed computation with a comparison between the classical and the relativistic solution: The Precession of Mercury’s Perihelion.



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