PERIHELION ADVANCE AND MANEFF'S FIELD

Abstract

We compute the advance of the perihelion of a planetary orbit as predicted by the Maneff's gravitational law and we compare the result with the results of the general relativity theory, as well as with the observational data for Mercury and for the binary pulsar PSR 1913+16. The effects resulting from the adoption of the Maneff's potential are analysed both in the classical and the relativistic case. For the relatistic analysis we propose a new form of the metric associated to Maneff's gravitational potential. The results show that in the classical case the advance of the perihelion (periastron) predicted in the Maneff's model is exactly half of the observed one, while putting the prediction of this model in accord with the prediction of general relativity requires a modification of the perturbating factor in Maneff's potential with a factor of 2. The computation made in the relativistic case with the Maneff potential give a result which is not in concordance with the observational data, because in this case the advance of the perihelion is a superposition of the value due to the relativistic effect and that resulting from the modification of the potential in the Maneff case.