Using Early Data to Illuminate the Pioneer Anomaly

Abstract

Analysis of the radio tracking data from the Pioneer 10/11 spacecraft at distances between about 20 - 70 AU from the Sun has consistently indicated the presence of an unmodeled, small, constant, Doppler blue shift drift of order 6 \times 10^{-9} Hz/s. After accounting for systematics, this drift can be interpreted as a constant acceleration of a_P= (8.74 \pm 1.33) \times 10^{-8} cm/s^2 directed towards the Sun, or perhaps as a time acceleration of a_t = (2.92 \pm 0.44)\times 10^{-18} s/s^2. Although it is suspected that there is a systematic origin to this anomaly, none has been unambiguously demonstrated. We review the current status of the anomaly, and then point out how the analysis of early data, which was never analyzed in detail, could allow a more clear understanding of the origin of the anomaly, be it a systematic or a manifestation of unsuspected physics.

arXiv comment19 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, additional material

References in corpus (15)

• Study of the anomalous acceleration of Pioneer 10 and 11
• Indication, from Pioneer 10/11, Galileo, and Ulysses Data, of an Apparent Anomalous, Weak, Long-Range Acceleration
• MOND--theoretical aspects
• Comment on ``Indication, from Pioneer 10/11, Galileo and Ulysses Data, of an Apparent Anomalous, Weak, Long-Range Acceleration''
• Experimental implications of mirror matter-type dark matter
• Conventional Forces can Explain the Anomalous Acceleration of Pioneer 10
• Search for a Standard Explanation of the Pioneer Anomaly
• A mirror world explanation for the Pioneer spacecraft anomalies?
• Independent Confirmation of the Pioneer 10 Anomalous Acceleration
• Directly Measured Limit on the Interplanetary Matter Density from Pioneer 10 and 11
• A Prosaic Explanation for the Anomalous Accelerations Seen in Distant Spacecraft
• A Mission to Test the Pioneer Anomaly
• Anderson et al. Reply (to the Comment by Murphy on Pioneer 10/11)
• Anderson et al. Reply (to the Comment by Katz on Pioneer 10/11)
• Theoretical Motivation for Gravitation Experiments on Ultra-Low Energy Antiprotons and Antihydrogen

Cited by in corpus (31)

• General Relativity and Cosmology: Unsolved Questions and Future Directions
• Geodesic equation in Schwarzschild--(anti-)de Sitter space--times: Analytical solutions and applications
• The Pioneer Anomaly
• The Bullet Cluster 1E0657-558 evidence shows Modified Gravity in the absence of Dark Matter
• Gravitational solution to the Pioneer 10/11 anomaly
• The Energy Transfer Process in Planetary Flybys
• The Study of the Pioneer Anomaly: New Data and Objectives for New Investigation
• Can Gravity Probe B usefully constrain torsion gravity theories?
• On the recently determined anomalous perihelion precession of Saturn
• Odyssey: a Solar System Mission
• Can the Pioneer anomaly be of gravitational origin? A phenomenological answer
• Pioneer 10 Doppler data analysis: disentangling periodic and secular anomalies
• New Horizons and the Onset of the Pioneer Anomaly
• The Cosmological Constant Problem, an Inspiration for New Physics
• Time Delay Predictions in a Modified Gravity Theory
• Can the Pioneer anomaly be induced by velocity-dependent forces? Tests in the outer regions of solar system with planetary dynamics
• Empirical evidences in favor of a varying-speed-of-light
• Search for a Solution of the Pioneer Anomaly
• Conformal Cosmology and the Pioneer Anomaly
• Long range gravity tests and the Pioneer anomaly
• Kinematical Conformal Cosmology: fundamental parameters from astrophysical observations
• Does the Neptunian system of satellites challenge a gravitational origin for the Pioneer anomaly?
• A Novel Visualization of the Geometry of Special Relativity
• Pioneer 10 and 11 Spacecraft Anomalous Acceleration in the light of the Nonsymmetric Kaluza-Klein (Jordan-Thiry) Theory
• The Ambiguity in the Definition and Behavior of the Gravitational and Cosmological `Coupling Constants' in the Theory of Induced Gravity
• Pioneer anomaly: What can we learn from LISA?
• On a recently proposed scalar-tensor-vector metric extension of general relativity to explain the Pioneer anomaly
• On the possible onset of the Pioneer anomaly
• NASA's astonishing evidence that c is not constant: The pioneer anomaly
• Gravitational radiation of accelerated sources
• Physics at the Transition between Bounded and Unbounded Trajectories