Null Test of Structural Corrections in Interplanetary Trajectory Dynamics Using Voyager 1 Ephemerides
Abstract
This work presents a fully numerical null test of a minimal, structurally motivated correction to classical gravitational trajectory dynamics. The tested correction is formulated as a local and conservative modification of the equation of motion, constructed solely from the spatial structure of the gravitational potential and introducing no new particles, forces, or degrees of freedom. Using high-precision, publicly available ephemerides of the Voyager~1 spacecraft obtained from the NASA/JPL Horizons system, the study evaluates whether such a correction can remain compatible with long-term, high-accuracy spacecraft trajectories. The test is performed over multi-decade timescales in an inertial heliocentric frame and is explicitly designed to be falsifiable. The results show that any non-zero realization of the proposed correction either introduces measurable cumulative drift, degrades numerical stability, or becomes suppressed below physical relevance. Accordingly, the tested class of trajectory-level structural corrections is ruled out within the sensitivity afforded by the Voyager~1 data. Importantly, the negative result constrains only this specific dynamical realization and does not constitute a test of ZIP cosmology as an interpretative or cosmological framework. The work serves as a clear example of how high-precision trajectory data can be used to place quantitative limits on minimal extensions of classical dynamics.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
Relativity and Gravitational Theory
Stellar
planetary
and galactic studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
- Publication date
- 26 January 2026