Fate of observers in circular motion
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Documents
- PhysRevD.105.064014
Final published version, 235 KB, PDF document
In Newtonian physics or in general relativity, energy dissipation causes observers moving along circular orbits to slowly spiral toward the source of the gravitational field. We show that the loss of energy has the same effect in any theory of gravity respecting the weak equivalence principle, by exhibiting an intimate relation between the energy of a massive test particle and the stability of its orbit. Ultimately, massive particles either plunge, or are driven towards minima of the generalized Newtonian potential, where they become static. In addition, we construct a toy metric which displays an unbound innermost stable circular orbit, allowing particles that reach this orbit to be expelled away.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 064014 |
Journal | Physical Review D |
Volume | 105 |
Issue number | 6 |
Number of pages | 7 |
ISSN | 2470-0010 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 8 Mar 2022 |
- FIELD
Research areas
Links
- https://arxiv.org/pdf/2202.08850.pdf
Submitted manuscript
ID: 302382472