On the influence of the rotation of a corner cube reflector in absolute gravimetry

Test masses of absolute gravimeters contain prism or hollow retroreflectors. A rotation of such a retroreflector during free-fall can cause a bias in the measured g-value. In particular, prism retroreflectors produce phase shifts, which cannot be eliminated. Such an error is small if the rotation occurs about the optical centre of the retroreflector; however, under certain initial conditions the error can reach the microgal level. The contribution from these rotation-induced accelerations is calculated.