MICROSCOPE mission: first results of a space test of the equivalence principle
File(s)1712.01176.pdf (3.8 MB)
Accepted version
OA Location
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
According to the weak equivalence principle, all bodies should fall at the same rate in a gravitational field. The MICROSCOPE satellite, launched in April 2016, aims to test its validity at the 10−15 precision level, by measuring the force required to maintain two test masses (of titanium and platinum alloys) exactly in the same orbit. A nonvanishing result would correspond to a violation of the equivalence principle, or to the discovery of a new long-range force. Analysis of the first data gives δ(Ti,Pt)=[−1±9(stat)±9(syst)]×10−15 (1σ statistical uncertainty) for the titanium-platinum Eötvös parameter characterizing the relative difference in their free-fall accelerations.
Date Issued
2017-12-08
Date Acceptance
2017-09-20
Citation
Physical Review Letters, 2017, 119 (23)
ISSN
0031-9007
Publisher
American Physical Society
Journal / Book Title
Physical Review Letters
Volume
119
Issue
23
Copyright Statement
© 2017 American Physical Society
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Physics
MICROSCOPE
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 231101
Date Publish Online
2017-12-04