A weak equivalence principle test on a suborbital rocket

Abstract

We describe a Galilean test of the weak equivalence principle, to be conducted during the free fall portion of a sounding rocket flight. The test of a single pair of substances is aimed at a measurement uncertainty of () < 10 -16 after averaging the results of eight separate drops. The weak equivalence principle measurement is made with a set of four laser gauges that are expected to achieve 0.1 pm Hz -1/2 . The discovery of a violation (η ≠ 0) would have profound implications for physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.

Matter-gravity couplings and Lorentz violation

“…V. However, in the interest of generality, it is useful to establish results valid for a large class of models. In this subsection, we outline a procedure to obtain expressions for h µν and for the generic coefficient fluctuations t λµν... when S ′ is largely unknown, and we obtain explicit results for h µν , ( a eff ) µ , and c µν applicable to the equation of motion (78). These results are used in later sections of this work in establishing experimental signatures for Lorentz violation.…”

“…The primary observable in laser-ranging tests is the coordinate acceleration a J ES of the relative Earth-satellite separation. Working in the Sun-centered frame, we can obtain this acceleration from the equation of motion (78). The relevant contributions to the coefficient and metric fluctuations from (a eff ) µ and c µν can be found in Sec.…”

Gravitational redshift, equivalence principle, and matter waves

“…Operating an AI redshift test on a sounding rocket [62] or an Earth satellite on a highly elliptical orbit will amplify the (v/c) 2 term by a factor of ∼ 10 7 relative to the stationary test [2]. Such a test could have a sensitivity to β 0 III ∼ 1 × 10 −4 , 12 orders of magnitude better than the present AI bound (see above).…”

Design and characteristics of a WEP test in a sounding-rocket payload

“…The sounding-rocket based principle of equivalence measurement (SR-POEM) will achieve a sensitivity() < 2 ä 10 -17 in the ≈ 20 minute portion of a single flight of a suborbital rocket in which atmospheric drag is negligible. This is a five-fold improvement over our previous design Phillips 2010]. We use subpicometer tracking frequency laser gauges (TFGs) to measure the distances from a highly stable "TFG plate," to two test masses (TMs), containing test substances "A" and "B".…”