Space test of the equivalence principle: first results of the MICROSCOPE mission

Touboul, Pierre; Métris, Gilles; Rodrigues, Manuel; André, Y.; Baghi, Quentin; Bergé, Joël; Boulanger, Damien; Bremer, Stefanie; Chhun, Ratana; Christophe, Bruno; Cipolla, Valerio; Damour, Thibault; Danto, Pascale; Dittus, H.; Fayet, Pierre; Foulon, Bernard; Guidotti, Pierre-Yves; Hardy, Émilie; Huynh, Phuong-Anh; Lämmerzahl, Cláus; Lebat, Vincent; Liorzou, Françoise; List, Meike; Panet, I.; Pires, S.; Pouilloux, Benjamin; Prieur, Pascal; Reynaud, Serge; Rievers, Benny; Robert, Alain; Selig, Hanns; Serron, Laura; Sumner, T. J.; Visser, Pieter

doi:10.1088/1361-6382/ab4707

Cited by 83 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Parameter Current σ = 5 ppm σ = 1 ppm σ = 0.1 ppm w 0 0.14 0.16 0.15 0.11 ζ (ppm) 5.3 3.0 2.3 0.5 be available from the final MICROSCOPE results (Touboul et al 2019).…”

Section: Improving Constraints: Prospects and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinguishing freezing and thawing dark energy models through measurements of the fine-structure constant

Boas

Duarte

Martins

et al. 2020

A&A

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Mapping the behaviour of dark energy is a pressing task for observational cosmology. Phenomenological classification divides dynamical dark energy models into freezing and thawing, depending on whether the dark energy equation of state is approaching or moving away from w = p/ρ = −1. Moreover, in realistic dynamical dark energy models the dynamical degree of freedom is expected to couple to the electromagnetic sector, leading to variations of the fine-structure constant α. We discuss the feasibility of distinguishing between the freezing and thawing classes of models with current and forthcoming observational facilities and using a parametrisation of the dark energy equation of state, which can have either behaviour, introduced by Mukhanov as fiducial paradigm. We illustrate how freezing and thawing models lead to different redshift dependencies of α, and use a combination of current astrophysical observations and local experiments to constrain this class of models, improving the constraints on the key coupling parameter by more than a factor of two, despite considering a more extended parameter space than the one used in previous studies. We also briefly discuss the improvements expected from future facilities and comment on the practical limitations of this class of parametrisations. In particular, we show that sufficiently sensitive data can distinguish between freezing and thawing models, at least if one assumes that the relevant parameter space does not include phantom dark energy models.

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“…Parameter Current σ = 5 ppm σ = 1 ppm σ = 0.1 ppm w 0 0.14 0.16 0.15 0.11 ζ (ppm) 5.3 3.0 2.3 0.5 be available from the final MICROSCOPE results (Touboul et al 2019).…”

Section: Improving Constraints: Prospects and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinguishing freezing and thawing dark energy models through measurements of the fine-structure constant

Boas

Duarte

Martins

et al. 2020

A&A

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“…This was presented as an observed physical principle, without a deeper explanation. Newton and many later experimentalists have conducted different experiments to verify UFF, no deviations have been found that are larger than 1.3 × 10 −14 (Touboul et al 2019). This equivalence between the inertial and passive gravitational masses for test particles (defined here as objects with negligible gravitational selfenergy) is the so-called weak equivalence principle (WEP).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

An improved test of the strong equivalence principle with the pulsar in a triple star system

Voisin

Cognard

Freire

et al. 2020

A&A

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Context. The gravitational strong equivalence principle (SEP) is a cornerstone of the general theory of relativity (GR). Hence, testing the validity of SEP is of great importance when confronting GR, or its alternatives, with experimental data. Pulsars that are orbited by white dwarf companions provide an excellent laboratory, where the extreme difference in binding energy between neutron stars and white dwarfs allows for precision tests of the SEP via the technique of radio pulsar timing. Aims. To date, the best limit on the validity of SEP under strong-field conditions was obtained with a unique pulsar in a triple stellar system, PSR J0337+1715. We report here on an improvement of this test using an independent data set acquired over a period of 6 years with the Nançay radio telescope. The improvements arise from a uniformly sampled data set, a theoretical analysis, and a treatment that fixes some short-comings in the previously published results, leading to better precision and reliability of the test. Methods. In contrast to the previously published test, we use a different long-term timing data set, developed a new timing model and an independent numerical integration of the motion of the system, and determined the masses and orbital parameters with a different methodology that treats the parameter Δ, describing a possible strong-field SEP violation, identically to all other parameters. Results. We obtain a violation parameter Δ = ( + 0.5 ± 1.8) × 10−6 at 95% confidence level, which is compatible with and improves upon the previous study by 30%. This result is statistics-limited and avoids limitation by systematics as previously encountered. We find evidence for red noise in the pulsar spin frequency, which is responsible for up to 10% of the reported uncertainty. We use the improved limit on SEP violation to place constraints on a class of well-studied scalar-tensor theories, in particular we find ωBD > 140 000 for the Brans-Dicke parameter. The conservative limits presented here fully take into account current uncertainties in the equation for state of neutron-star matter.

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“…The equivalence stated in this way is based on another equivalence between passive-gravitational mass m G and inertial mass m I of a body (also known as the Galilean Equivalence Principle) which has been confirmed by a number of experiments (see [3,4] or [5] for a comprehensive review), most recently by the Eöt-Wash experiment [6] and the MICROSCOPE experiment [7,8]. If m G and m I were not equal, one would be able to perform local experiments (such as dropping test bodies) in the accelerating frame K ′ which would produce differences between the outcomes of the same experiments performed in the reference K.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…where u are particles' 4-velocities and where for simplicity we used reparametrization invariance and set g u u = const. Compatibility with the Lorentz force requires that Equations 7and (8) both imply that h � A � A � = 0. Therefore either h � = 0 or we have A � A � = 0 which implies (A �2 ) ⋅ = 0 and hence A �2 = const.…”

Section: Classical Constraintsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Equivalence Principle and Relativistic Quantum Mechanics

Trzetrzelewski

2020

Found Phys

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Einstein’s Equivalence Principle implies that the Lorentz force equation can be derived from a geodesic equation by imposing a certain (necessary) condition on the electromagnetic potential (Trzetrzelewski, EPL 120:4, 2018). We analyze the quantization of that constraint and find the corresponding differential equations for the phase of the wave function. We investigate these equations in the case of Coulomb potential and show that physically acceptable solutions do not exist. This result signals an inconsistency between Einstein’s Equivalence Principle and Relativistic Quantum Mechanics at an atomic level.

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Space test of the equivalence principle: first results of the MICROSCOPE mission

Cited by 83 publications

References 66 publications

Distinguishing freezing and thawing dark energy models through measurements of the fine-structure constant

Distinguishing freezing and thawing dark energy models through measurements of the fine-structure constant

An improved test of the strong equivalence principle with the pulsar in a triple star system

On the Equivalence Principle and Relativistic Quantum Mechanics

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