Second-order contributions to relativistic time delay in the parametrized post-Newtonian formalism

Abstract

Using a parametrized expansion of the solar metric to second order in the Newtonian potential, we calculate the relativistic delay in the round-trip travel time of a radar signal reflected from a nearby planet. We find that one second-order contribution to the delay is on the order of ten nanoseconds, which is comparable to the uncertainties in present-day experiments involving the Viking spacecraft.