Non-inertial frames that can mimic gravitational fields

Abstract

One version of the principle of equivalence, as originally formulated by Einstein, states that ``gravity" can be mimicked locally by going to an ``accelerated frame of reference". As highlighted by Synge, the physical content of this principle remains obscure in so far as it does not refer to the Riemann tensor $R_{abcd}$, which encodes the true effects of gravity. We here give the acceleration profile of a $Born$ rigid, Rindler$esque$, frame that can mimic a gravitational field corresponding to a given $R_{abcd}$. The generalised deviation equation that yields this result also has Centrifugal and Coriolis terms appearing in a purely relational context, yielding a similar connection between angular velocity of rotating, rigid inertial frames and the Riemann tensor. We comment briefly on implications for Mach principle.