Speaker
Ms
Melanie Chanona
(University of Waterloo)
Description
The nature of Earth-Moon interactions results in a complex astrophysical system. Due to subtle effects from the tidal gravitational field of the moon, the Earth's spin angular momentum is actually decreasing over time. But conservation of angular momentum requires that this be compensated for by altering the moon's orbit. I present a novel method of analyzing this interaction using a quasilocal approach that produces a highly general conservation law. Through the use of Rigid Quasilocal Frames (RQFs), we take a more natural approach to analyzing systems of interacting bodies that, unlike traditional methods, does not require a local defintion of gravitational energy or spacetime symmetries. We demonstrate this by considering the example of the Earth-Moon system and calculating the recession of the moon to be 3.8 cm/year - exactly the experimental result.
Primary author
Ms
Melanie Chanona
(University of Waterloo)
Co-authors
Dr
Paul McGrath
(University of Waterloo)
Dr
Richard Epp
(University of Waterloo)
Dr
Robert Mann
(Univeristy of Waterloo)
