EPJ Web of Conferences 168, 02004 (2018)
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201816802004

Experiments on Frequency Dependence of the Deflection of Light in Yang-Mills Gravity

Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA 02747, USA

^* e-mail: yhao@umassd.edu
^** e-mail: yzhu3@umassd.edu
^*** e-mail: jhsu@umassd.edu

Published online: 9 January 2018

Abstract

In Yang-Mills gravity based on flat space-time, the eikonal equation for a light ray is derived from the modified Maxwell’s wave equations in the geometric-optics limit. One obtains a Hamilton-Jacobi type equation, G_L^µv∂_µΨ∂_vΨ = 0 with an effective Riemannian metric tensor G_L^µv. According to Yang-Mills gravity, light rays (and macroscopic objects) move as if they were in an effective curved space-time with a metric tensor. The deflection angle of a light ray by the sun is about 1.53″ for experiments with optical frequencies ≈ 10¹⁴Hz. It is roughly 12% smaller than the usual value 1.75″. However, the experimental data in the past 100 years for the deflection of light by the sun in optical frequencies have uncertainties of (10-20)% due to large systematic errors. If one does not take the geometric-optics limit, one has the equation, G_L^µv[∂_µΨ∂_vΨcosΨ+ (∂_µ∂_vΨ)sinΨ] = 0, which suggests that the deflection angle could be frequency-dependent, according to Yang-Mills gravity. Nowadays, one has very accurate data in the radio frequencies ≈ 10⁹Hz with uncertainties less than 0.1%. Thus, one can test this suggestion by using frequencies ≈ 10¹² Hz, which could have a small uncertainty 0.1% due to the absence of systematic errors in the very long baseline interferometry.