Abstract

In relativistic theories, the assumption of proper mass constancy generally holds. We study gravitational relativistic mechanics of point particle in the novel approach of proper mass varying under Minkowski force action. The motivation and objective of this work are twofold: first, to show how the gravitational force can be included in the Special Relativity Mechanics framework, and, second, to investigate possible consequences of the revision of conventional proper mass concept (in particular, to clarify a proper mass role in the divergence problem). It is shown that photon motion in the gravitational field can be treated in terms of massless refracting medium, what makes the gravity phenomenon compatible with SR Mechanics framework in the variable proper mass approach.Specifically, the problem of point particle in the spherical symmetric stationary gravitational field is studied in SR-based Mechanics, and equations of motion in the Lorentz covariant form are obtained in the relativistic Lagrangean problem formulation. The dependence of proper mass on potential field strength is derived from the Euler-Lagrange equations as well. One of new results is the elimination of conventional 1/r divergence, which is known to be not removable in Schwarzschild gravitomechanics. Predictions of particle and photon gravitational properties are in agreement with GR classical tests under weak-field conditions; however, deviations rise with potential field strength. The conclusion is made that the approach of field-dependent proper mass is perspective for development of SR gravitational mechanics and further studies of gravitational problems.