Eddington's 1919 Eclipse: Photon Deviation & Redshift

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the implications of Arthur Eddington's 1919 eclipse observation, specifically regarding the photon deviation caused by the Sun's gravitational influence and whether this results in a qualitative redshift of photons as they reach Earth. The scope includes theoretical considerations of gravitational effects on light and potential observational consequences.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether the gravitational influence of the Sun causes photons to exhibit a qualitative redshift due to the time spent within its gravitational field.
  • Another participant argues that since the spacetime around the Sun is stationary, any effects on photons entering the gravitational field are reversed upon exiting, suggesting no qualitative redshift occurs.
  • A third participant notes that starlight is slightly blueshifted on Earth compared to deep space light due to entering the Sun's gravitational field, but claims this effect is countered by the subsequent climb back to Earth.
  • This participant also mentions potential effects from the Sun's rotation, suggesting that light traveling in the same direction as the Sun's rotation could be slightly bluer, though doubts the feasibility of detecting such an effect experimentally.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the existence and nature of redshift due to gravitational influence, with some asserting that no qualitative redshift occurs while others acknowledge a blueshift effect but argue it is counterbalanced.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference the stationary nature of spacetime around the Sun and the complexities introduced by the Sun's rotation, indicating that assumptions about these factors may influence their claims.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in gravitational effects on light, astrophysics, or historical observations in physics may find this discussion relevant.

Gfellow
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TL;DR
Do photons from stars passing the Sun's gravitational influence change their redshift quality?
Hi all, I've been wondering:
Thinking of Arthur Eddington's relativistic oriented 1919 eclipse observation, would the photon deviation due to the Sun's gravitational imposition have caused the photons to exhibit a qualitative redshift due to the time photons had spent within the Sun's gravitational influence? When the photons reached the Earth, would a spectrometer or somesuch device discern a qualitative redshift difference on the photons that would be different from when the Sun was not an influence?

Any knowledge, opinions welcomed.
 
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Gfellow said:
would the photon deviation due to the Sun's gravitational imposition have caused the photons to exhibit a qualitative redshift due to the time photons had spent within the Sun's gravitational influence?

No. Heuristically, since the spacetime around the Sun is stationary (at least to a very good approximation), any effects on the photon going in are exactly reversed when it comes out.
 
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Starlight is slightly blueshifted on Earth compared to the same light observed in deep space, because it has entered the Sun's gravitational field. There is no additional effect from passing near the Sun - as Peter says, the additional blueshift from the extra "fall" towards the Sun is countered by the "climb" back to Earth.

In principle there are some effects due to the rotation of the Sun - light coming round the same way the Sun rotates would be very slightly bluer than light moving counter to the rotation. I haven't looked into it, but I rather doubt that we could do an experiment precise enough to detect that.
 
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Thanks!
Your thoughts and comments are highly appreciated.
 

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