Is the Pioneer Anomaly Explained by Topological Phase Defects of Light?

Thread starter wolram
Start date Feb 17, 2005
Tags

Anomaly Origin pioneer Topological

AI Thread Summary

The discussion centers on the Pioneer anomaly potentially being explained by topological phase defects of light. Critics argue that the theory does not account for why certain probes, such as the Titan probe, do not exhibit the anomaly when they remain near planets without accelerating. The theory's independence from the object's motion raises questions about its validity. Overall, the explanation remains unconvincing to some participants in the discussion. The debate highlights the need for further investigation into the underlying causes of the Pioneer anomaly.

Feb 17, 2005

wolram

Gold Member

Dearly Missed

http://lanl.arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/0501041
the pioneer anomaly is due to topological phase defect of light

Astronomy news on Phys.org

Feb 17, 2005

ohwilleke

Gold Member

I'm not sold. The theory fails to explain why probes that stay in the vicinity of planets for an extended period (like the current Titan probe) don't show an anomoly when they aren't accellerating away from us. But, this theory doesn't appear to depend on the motion of the object.

Thread 'Does it make sense to build new radio telescopes?'

TL;DR Summary: In 3 years, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope (or rather, a system of telescopes) should be put into operation. In case of failure to detect alien signals, it will further expand the radius of the so-called silence (or rather, radio silence) of the Universe. Is there any sense in this or is blissful ignorance better? In 3 years, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope (or rather, a system of telescopes) should be put into operation. In case of failure to detect...

View full post »

Thread 'Could gamma-ray bursts have an intragalactic origin?'

This is indirectly evidenced by a map of the distribution of gamma-ray bursts in the night sky, made in the form of an elongated globe. And also the weakening of gamma radiation by the disk and the center of the Milky Way, which leads to anisotropy in the possibilities of observing gamma-ray bursts. My line of reasoning is as follows: 1. Gamma radiation should be absorbed to some extent by dust and other components of the interstellar medium. As a result, with an extragalactic origin, fewer...

View full post »

Thread 'Our Beautiful Universe - Photos and Videos'

This thread is dedicated to the beauty and awesomeness of our Universe. If you feel like it, please share video clips and photos (or nice animations) of space and objects in space in this thread. Your posts, clips and photos may by all means include scientific information; that does not make it less beautiful to me (n.b. the posts must of course comply with the PF guidelines, i.e. regarding science, only mainstream science is allowed, fringe/pseudoscience is not allowed). n.b. I start this...

View full post »