Godel spacetime: elliptic-like geodesics and gyroscope precession

Abstract

We study elliptic-like geodesic motion on hyperplanes orthogonal to the cylindrical symmetry axes of the Godel spacetime by using an eccentricity-semi-latus rectum parametrization which is familiar from the Newtonian description of a two-body system. We compute several quantities which summarize the main features of the motion, namely the coordinate time and proper time periods of the radial motion, the frequency of the azimuthal motion, the full variation of the azimuthal angle over a period, etc. Exact as well as approximate (i.e., Taylor-expanded in the limit of small eccentricity) analytic expressions of all these quantities are obtained. Finally, we consider their application to the gyroscope precession frequency along these orbits, generalizing the existing results for the circular case.