The Sagnac and Hafele–Keating experiments: Two keys to the understanding of space–time physics in the vicinity of the Earth

Abstract

The role of preferred frames for light propagation and time dilation in the region of a massive, spherical, gravitating bodies, where according to general relativity, space–time curvature is described by the Schwarzschild metric equation, is discussed in the context of the Sagnac effect (for light propagation) and the Hafele–Keating experiment (for time dilation). Predictions for both translational and rotational motion relative to the preferred frame are calculated up to order [Formula: see text]. Different published theoretical calculations of the Sagnac effect are critically reviewed. The conflation in the literature of measured time differences in Sagnac experiments (a classical order [Formula: see text] effect) and time dilation (a relativistic order [Formula: see text] effect) are also discussed.