Published on: 2026-04-12
Source: Russian University of Peoples’ Friendship – Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia –
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The Educational and Scientific Institute of Gravitation and Cosmology of RUDN has been conducting long-term scientific research in the field of modern theories of gravitation, physics of black holes, and theoretical cosmology. One of the applied aspects of these studies is the examination of the influence of various factors on the movement of cosmic objects within the Solar System.
UNIGS scientists told about the latest major project implemented in honor of Cosmonautics Day“Properties of local objects with strong gravitational fields and various symmetry properties”. The project had a fundamental nature and was dedicated to the study of various gravitational phenomena by methods of theoretical physics.
As is known, the currently accepted theory of gravitation is Einstein’s general theory of relativity (GTR), which treats gravitation as a manifestation of the curvature of space-time. In recent years, various generalizations and modifications of GTR have become widespread, aimed at clarifying or expanding the limits of its applicability.Accordingly, the main object of study in the project was the exact solutions of the OTO equations and other models of gravitation, describing the fields of attraction of stars and exotic objects, such as black holes (objects with extremely strong gravity) and “wormholes” (hypothetical tunnels in space-time). In addition, the properties of cosmological solutions were studied, describing the evolution of the Universe as a whole, as well as the possibilities of modern methods of gravitation theory in the tasks of elementary particle physics and astronautics.
Sergey Boloshov
Deputy Director for Educational Work of UNIGK
Scientists have created several theoretical methods and systems for studying gravitational systems on various scales: from local fields of attraction of planets, stars, black holes and “wormholes” to global cosmological manifestations of gravity. In particular, based on bifurcation theory, a scheme has been developed in cosmology that provides a new perspective on the nature of the accelerated expansion of the Universe. Also developed is a critically important scheme for interplanetary missions for calculating corrections to the trajectories of space probes performing gravitational maneuvers.
Key project results
- Properties of a large family of black holes in various theories of gravity are described: including stability, particle orbits in their vicinity, spectral-wave characteristics, quantum evaporation, etc. — which serve as an important theoretical tool when detecting such objects in the code of future astronomical observations.
- Using the so-called holographic approach, it has been demonstrated how gravitational equations can effectively describe the behavior of quark-gluon plasma, which is considered quite a difficult task within the framework of traditional approaches.
- A scheme of an experiment was proposed to refine the existing law of gravitation within the Solar System — it considered the movement of a probe launched from Earth and executing a gravitational maneuver near Venus.
A remarkable property of such a maneuver is its high sensitivity to small disturbances in the probe’s trajectory, which allows it to be greatly amplified and detected in the course of observations. These disturbances can be caused both by possible corrections to the law of gravitation, as well as by factors of solar radiation (including the solar wind). Project participants conducted calculations of these factors, which is especially important against the background of the growing number of interplanetary missions using gravitational maneuvers and requiring highly accurate accounting of various disturbances.
The proposed experiment allows measuring hypothetical corrections to the standard law of gravitation, predicted by various theories of gravity, which can serve as an important tool in testing the viability of such theories.
The results of the project have been published in more than 40 scientific articles in leading international journals, which has made an important contribution to modern fundamental research in the field of gravity theory, which has become especially relevant in recent years in light of the discovery of gravitational waves, observations of supermassive black holes, as well as in connection with the active development of interplanetary space mission projects. In particular, the key work on the influence of solar radiation on the movement of spacecraft in the gravitational maneuver mode was published in a prestigious journalActa Astronautica.
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