Observations demonstrate the validity of the theory of relativity



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  • To determine the position and speed of the star S2, the scientists reaffirmed the predictions of the theory of Einstein
  • It is good that it can be verified in the gravitational fields as weak as the Earth and in the gravitational fields very intense, as the center of the galaxy, that the physics we know is valid

The Theory of General Relativity of Einstein has been validated by a team of 39; astronomers who follow in detail a group of stars in the center of our Milky Way, whose movements are governed by the intense gravity of the supermassive black hole which is also at the center of our galaxy.

The experts closely followed the position and speed of one of them, the S2, and they observed a gravitational redness that coincided with the predictions made by this theory.

"It is good that we can check in the gravitational fields of biles like that of the Earth, and in very intense gravitational fields, like the center of the galaxy, that the physics that we know is valid in these cases and that the evolution of objects is well described by the Theory of General Relativity ", José Franco, a researcher at the Institute of Astronomy of UNAM, said that this corroborates that the Science advances with solid foundation, so it's the best way to understand the origin, the evolution and probably the end of the Universe.

The international team of astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for the Physical Extraterrestrial of Garching in Germany and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) particularly monitors the movement of the S2 star which is the one that passes closest to the center and which, at the time of one of the measurements, was located 20 million kilometers from the black hole, moving at a speed of 25 million kilometers per hour (nearly 3% of the e speed of light)

The star revolves around the hole every 16 years and has been followed for 25 years by experts who, with the Using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and its instruments, have made the most accurate observations of the movement of an object in the galactic center.

With this work, Franco continued, in addition to checking the Theory of General Relativity shows the power of technology developed in recent years by astronomers, because they meticulously followed the orbits of objects, which It's not easy because the center of our galaxy is far away and heavily obscured by large clouds of gas and dust.

The supermassive black hole matter, the closest to the Earth, is 26 000 light-years away and has a mass four million times more than the Sun. The area is surrounded, in addition to the dark clouds, by a small group of stars circling at high speed.

Proven Theory

The theory of general relativity, published in 1915, describes how bodies behave in gravitational fields of all kinds, large and small. Their predictions include the deviation of light in the presence of masses and the change of the rhythm of time due to gravitational fields.

The latter is also equivalent to a variation in the frequency of light when the potential changes. Gravitational In other words, the frequency of the atomic clock will change if it is placed in a different gravitational field. "One of the first proofs that Einstein's theory was correct was the deviation of light by the gravitational field of the Sun, observed in the total solar eclipse of 1919."

The theory explains that if we Let's understand gravitation as a deformation of space-time, so any object, massive or not, that passes near a mass will undergo a deviation. Likewise, changing the rhythm of the clock implies that the light that comes out of a gravitational field becomes red, adds the head of the Scientific and Technological Advisory Forum

In the case of the star S2, "There is a gravitational redness that occurs precisely because of the presence of such an intense field (black hole), and that is what the researchers observed and confirms. relativistic effect in the presence of strong gravitational fields, "he explains

The deviation of light and its redness are two different effects, he added.The deviation has been verified since the 1919 eclipse, and in recent years, in regions of the Universe where there are significant mass concentrations that generate so-called gravitational lenses or light deviations that alter the image of objects that are around 1945

gravitational redness, on the other part, has been verified on Earth, with the so-called Mössbauer effect, which makes it possible to measure the red shift of a beam of light emitted upwards, against the direction of the gravitational field. Also with the GPS system, which requires adjustments due to the gravitational shift to maintain the accuracy in the clock system.

With the information of function UNAM

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