A New test of conservation laws and Lorentz invariance in relativistic gravity

Bell, J.F.; Damour, T

doi:10.1088/0264-9381/13/12/003

A New test of conservation laws and Lorentz invariance in relativistic gravity

J.F. Bell
(
- Manchester U.
)
,
T Damour
(
- IHES, Bures-sur-Yvette and
- Meudon Observ.
)

Jun, 1996

7 pages

Published in:

Class.Quant.Grav. 13 (1996) 3121-3128

e-Print:

gr-qc/9606062 [gr-qc]

DOI:

10.1088/0264-9381/13/12/003

Report number:

IHES-P-96-36

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Abstract: (arXiv)

General relativity predicts that energy and momentum conservation laws hold and that preferred frames do not exist. The parametrised post-Newtonian formalism (PPN) phenomenologically quantifies possible deviations from general relativity. The PPN parameter alpha_3 (which identically vanishes in general relativity) plays a dual role in that it is associated both with a violation of the momentum conservation law, and with the existence of a preferred frame. By considering the effects of alpha_3 neq 0 in certain binary pulsar systems, it is shown that alpha_3 < 2.2 x 10~-20 (90% CL). This limit improves on previous results by several orders of magnitude, and shows that pulsar tests of alpha_3 rank (together with Hughes-Drever-type tests of local Lorentz invariance) among the most precise null experiments of physics.

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