https://physicsworld.com/a/einstein...elativity-tested-by-star-orbiting-black-hole/
A key aspect of Einstein’s general theory of relativity has passed its most rigorous test so far. An international team led by Tuan Do and Andrea Ghez at the University of California, Los Angeles confirmed the Einstein equivalence principle (EEP) by analysing the redshift of light from the star S0-2 at its closest approach to Sagittarius A* – the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. The study combined over 20 years of existing spectroscopic and astrometric measurements of S0-2 with the team’s own observations.
Do and Ghez’s team tested the EEP using three further spectroscopic instruments. These collected an additional three months of redshift data at similar times to the GRAVITY study. Their observations included S0-2’s closest approach to Sagittarius A* in May 2018, its maximum line-of-sight velocity in March, and its minimum line-of-sight velocity in September; spanning a range of 6000 km/s in radial velocity. The researchers then combined their observations with S0-2 redshift data collected by others in 1995-2017 – which includes observations made by eight other instruments.Overall, their data included 45 astrometric position measurements spanning 24 years.
statistical analysis revealing that Einstein’s theories were 43,000 times more likely to explain their observed redshifts than the Newtonian model of gravity.
Here is Einstein, celebrating with a puff of smoke.
A key aspect of Einstein’s general theory of relativity has passed its most rigorous test so far. An international team led by Tuan Do and Andrea Ghez at the University of California, Los Angeles confirmed the Einstein equivalence principle (EEP) by analysing the redshift of light from the star S0-2 at its closest approach to Sagittarius A* – the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. The study combined over 20 years of existing spectroscopic and astrometric measurements of S0-2 with the team’s own observations.
Do and Ghez’s team tested the EEP using three further spectroscopic instruments. These collected an additional three months of redshift data at similar times to the GRAVITY study. Their observations included S0-2’s closest approach to Sagittarius A* in May 2018, its maximum line-of-sight velocity in March, and its minimum line-of-sight velocity in September; spanning a range of 6000 km/s in radial velocity. The researchers then combined their observations with S0-2 redshift data collected by others in 1995-2017 – which includes observations made by eight other instruments.Overall, their data included 45 astrometric position measurements spanning 24 years.
statistical analysis revealing that Einstein’s theories were 43,000 times more likely to explain their observed redshifts than the Newtonian model of gravity.
Here is Einstein, celebrating with a puff of smoke.
