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Gravitational redshift and the equivalence principle

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Abstract

Two problems have long been confused with each other: the gravitational redshift as discussed by the equivalence principle; and the Doppler shift observed by a detector which moves with constant proper acceleration away from a stationary source. We here distinguish these two problems and give for the first time a solution of the former which is ‘exact’ within the context of the equivalence principle in a sense discussed in the paper. The equivalence principle leads to transformations between flat spacetimes. These are analyzed, and a generalized Lorentz transformation is proposed which covers transformations from inertial to uniformly accelerated frames of reference.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, The University, Southampton, England

    P. T. Landsberg & N. T. Bishop

Authors
  1. P. T. Landsberg
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  2. N. T. Bishop
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Landsberg, P.T., Bishop, N.T. Gravitational redshift and the equivalence principle. Found Phys 6, 727–737 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00708951

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00708951

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