Geodetic precession or dragging of inertial frames

Journal Article · Wed Aug 15 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · Physical Review, D (Particles Fields); (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.42.1118· OSTI ID:6413028

Ashby, N ^[1]; Shahid-Saless, B ^[2]

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1. Department of Physics, Campus Box 390, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (USA)
2. Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 621, Greenbelt, MD (USA)

In metric theories of gravity the principle of general covariance allows one to describe phenomena by means of any convenient choice of coordinate system. In this paper it is shown that in an appropriately chosen coordinate system, geodetic precession of a gyroscope orbiting a spherically symmetric, spinning mass can be recast as a Lense-Thirring frame-dragging effect without invoking spatial curvature. The origin of this reference frame moves around the source but the frame axes point in fixed directions. The drag can be interpreted to arise from the orbital angular momentum of the source around the origin of the reference frame. In this reference frame the effects of geodetic precession and Lense-Thirring drag due to intrinsic angular momentum of the source have the same origin, namely, gravitomagnetism.

• OSTI ID: 6413028
• Journal Information: Physical Review, D (Particles Fields); (USA), Journal Name: Physical Review, D (Particles Fields); (USA) Vol. 42:4; ISSN PRVDA; ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

657003* -- Theoretical & Mathematical Physics-- Relativity & Gravitation
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
COORDINATES
FIELD THEORIES
GENERAL RELATIVITY THEORY
GRAVITATIONAL FIELDS
GYROSCOPES
MAGNETISM
MASS
METRICS
MOMENT OF INERTIA
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
PRECESSION
SPIN