Will Clifford M
McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences Department of Physics, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 USA.
Living Rev Relativ. 2006;9(1):3. doi: 10.12942/lrr-2006-3. Epub 2006 Mar 27.
The status of experimental tests of general relativity and of theoretical frameworks for analyzing them is reviewed. Einstein's equivalence principle (EEP) is well supported by experiments such as the Eötvös experiment, tests of special relativity, and the gravitational redshift experiment. Ongoing tests of EEP and of the inverse square law are searching for new interactions arising from unification or quantum gravity. Tests of general relativity at the post-Newtonian level have reached high precision, including the light deflection, the Shapiro time delay, the perihelion advance of Mercury, and the Nordtvedt effect in lunar motion. Gravitational wave damping has been detected in an amount that agrees with general relativity to better than half a percent using the Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar, and other binary pulsar systems have yielded other tests, especially of strong-field effects. When direct observation of gravitational radiation from astrophysical sources begins, new tests of general relativity will be possible.
综述了广义相对论的实验测试现状以及用于分析这些测试的理论框架。爱因斯坦等效原理（EEP）得到了诸如厄缶实验、狭义相对论测试以及引力红移实验等实验的有力支持。正在进行的EEP和平方反比定律测试正在寻找由统一理论或量子引力产生的新相互作用。后牛顿水平的广义相对论测试已经达到了高精度，包括光线偏折、夏皮罗时间延迟、水星近日点进动以及月球运动中的诺德维特效应。利用赫尔斯－泰勒双脉冲星已经探测到了与广义相对论相符程度优于0.5%的引力波阻尼，其他双脉冲星系统也提供了其他测试，尤其是对强场效应的测试。当开始直接观测来自天体物理源的引力辐射时，广义相对论的新测试将成为可能。
