弱等效原理的实验检验

惯性质量与引力质量相等是广义相对论基本理论假设之一，这个假设称为等效原理。本文介绍等效原理的检验实验的框架以及检验实验的历史、现状和未来。     

等效原理空间实验检验

等效原理地面实验检验已经达到了10-13,为了进一步提高实验精度,寻找新的相互作用和检验引力理论,人们提出了一系列更高精度等效原理检验的卫星计划.文章主要概述了等效原理空间检验的原理、发展历史和发展现状,并对进一步空间等效原理检验进行了简要展望.     

等效原理空间实验检验

等效原理地面实验检验已经达到了10-13,为了进一步提高实验精度,寻找新的相互作用和检验引力理论,人们提出了一系列更高精度等效原理检验的卫星计划.文章主要概述了等效原理空间检验的原理、发展历史和发展现状,并对进一步空间等效原理检验进行了简要展望.     

基于原子干涉仪的微观粒子弱等效原理检验

等效原理是广义相对论的两个基本假设之一,也是爱因斯坦对弱等效原理的推广.目前,大量实验证明弱等效原理在一定的实验精度内是成立的.将引力与标准模型统一起来的新理论都要求弱等效原理破缺,因此更高精度的弱等效原理检验具有重要的科学意义.本文介绍了原子干涉仪的原理,回顾了利用原子干涉仪开展微观粒子弱等效原理检验实验研究的历史和现状,介绍了双组分原子干涉仪检验弱等效原理实验涉及的振动噪声抑制、拉曼光移频与相位噪声抑制、四波双衍射拉曼跃迁原子干涉、信号探测与数据处理等关键问题及研究进展,分析了高精度微观粒子弱等效原理检验研究的发展趋势,介绍了长基线原子干涉仪、空间原子干涉仪、超冷原子源以及纠缠原子源制备等方面的研究动态,展望了微观粒子弱等效原理检验研究的发展前景.     

厄缶--为等效原理铺下基石的人

本文介绍了匈牙利杰出的物理学家厄缶的学术生涯和主要科学成就．     

对等效原理准确度的检验

400年前，伽利略在一份手稿中曾提到，相同材料的物体通过同一介质下落的时间相同，与物体的重量无关．虽然历史学家一般都怀疑这一有关伽利略和比萨斜塔的故事，但这一故事却导致最后出现了均匀引力场效应与加速度效应不能区分的等效原理．爱在斯坦的广义相对论正是在此基础上建立起来的．     

以广义相对论为例谈实验检验的总体方案设计

以广义相对论为例，论述了如何根据物理理论的逻辑体系设计实验，以检验理论的正确性，对于广义相对论，检验实验应包括对等效原理的检验实验，对牛顿极限的检验实验，以及对广义相对论推论的检验实验。     

对广义相对论更精确的实验检验

1905年，爱因斯坦提出了狭义相对论．10年后，他又基于等效原理建立了广义相对论，认为时、空性质决定于物质的分布．爱因斯坦根据广义相对论解释了天文学中长期未解决的一些问题：如水星近日点进动的剩余量，并预言了日全食时星光在太阳引力场中的偏转以及引力场中的光谱线向红端移动．这些预见在爱因斯坦逝世(1955年4月18日)以前就已为天文观测所证实．     

广义相对论中的等效原理与时空观

等效原理是广义相对论建立的基本思想实验原理, 它指出引力场和加速度的效应等价. 在等效原理中 有弱等效原理和强等效原理两个层次, 弱等效原理和强等效原理之间存在一定的联系. 以等效原理为基础将有助于 理解爱因斯坦的时空观     

旋转物体的等效原理及其空间实验

文章回溯了等效原理的历史,解释了弱等效原理（伽利略等效原理）、强等效原理（爱因斯坦等效原理）和甚强等效原理.实验检验表明,到10-13的实验精度时,没有观测到等效原理的破坏.文章最后,也是文章的主要目的,阐述了广义相对论的不足,即不能描写物质的自旋与引力场的耦合.自旋粒子或自转物体的能-动张量既有对称分量,也有非对称的分量,还有自旋张量.但是广义相对论的引力场方程中只包含了能-动张量对称分量,不包含反对称分量,更没有自旋张量的贡献.涉及自旋与引力场耦合的理论是（有挠率场的）引力规范理论,该理论预言：自旋粒子或旋转物体将偏离测地运动,因而破坏等效原理.为了检验这种破坏,文章作者及其合作者建议进行地面实验和空间实验.     

Effect of gravity gradient in weak equivalence principle test

A high accuracy test of the weak equivalence principle(WEP) is of great scientific significance no matter whether its result is positive. We analyze the gravity gradient effect which is a main systematic error source in the test of WEP.The result shows that the uncompensated gravity gradient effect from the coupling term of the dominated gravity gradient multipole moment component q_(21) and the relative multipole field component Q_(21) contributes to an uncertainty of 1×10~(-11) on the E¨otv¨os parameter. We make a Q_(21) compensation to reduce the effect by about 20 times, and the limit of the test precision due to this coupling is improved to a level of a part in 10~(13).     

Determination of the thermal noise limit in test of weak equivalence principle with a rotating torsion pendulum

Thermal noise is one of the most fundamental limits to the sensitivity in weak equivalence principle test with a rotating torsion pendulum. Velocity damping and internal damping are two of many contributions at the thermal noise, and which one mainly limits the torsion pendulum in low frequency is difficult to be verified by experiment. Based on the conventional method of fast Fourier transform, we propose a developed method to determine the thermal noise limit and then obtain the precise power spectrum density of the pendulum motion signal. The experiment result verifies that the thermal noise is mainly contributed by the internal damping in the fiber in the low frequency torsion pendulum experiment with a high vacuum. Quantitative data analysis shows that the basic noise level in the experiment is about one to two times of the theoretical value of internal damping thermal noise.     

The principle of equivalence and theories of gravity

We construct classical theories of gravity on the basis of special relativity and the Einstein-Infeld accelerating-elevator thought experiment. The resulting theories share most of the main features of general relativity, namely the nonlinear character of the theory, the metrical significance of the gravitational potentials and the geodesic equation of particle motion. They differ from general relativity in at most nonlinear terms in the gravitational constant G in their equations of particle motion and field equations.     

ADM electrons and the equivalence principle

Noting that the general relativistic ADM equation for the mass of a sphere of charged dust (with no angular momentum) reveals that the masses of point-like particles are determined solely by their electrical charge, electron models based on extended spheres of such purely electrical dust are examined. It is shown that for all realistic electron models of this type (where the observed electron mass is positive and many orders of magnitude smaller than either the Planck or ADM mass) the electron's bare active gravitational mass must be taken to be negative. Because of the negativity of the bare active gravitational mass, one of the two realistic models leads to a violation of the weak equivalence principle, but the other does not. A means of testing whether negative mass obeys the equivalence principle is mentioned.     

On Mach's principle

We propose the postulate that the resultant force acting on any body is zero. With this postulate and with a Weber force law for gravitation, we obtain equations of motion and conclude that all inertial forces are due to gravitational interaction with other bodies in the universe, as suggested by Mach. We then obtain the same value for the advance of the perhelion of the planets as is given by general relativity. All this is accomplished in a strictly relational theory. Finally, we relate these points to topical questions of electrodynamics raised by the experimental studies of Graneau and Pappas.     

A laboratory test of Mach's principle and strong-field relativistic gravity

A laboratory experiment that tests the validity of Mach's principle — the relativity and gravitational induction of inertia — and relativistic gravity in strong-field circumstances is described. It consists of looking for a stationary shift in the apparent weight of an object when a transient mass fluctuation is induced in one of its parts, that part then being subjected to a pulsed thrust. The transient mass fluctuation induced is of the order of a few tens of milligrams, and the stationary weight shift observed is several milligrams. Details of the apparatus used (capable of detecting an effect at the level of about a tenth of a milligram) are presented. Procedural protocols are laid out. The results obtained — signals some 10 to 15 times the standard error in magnitude — confirm to better than order of magnitude that the predicted effect is indeed present. The consequences of this confirmation of Mach's principle and relativistic gravity are briefly addressed. In particular, it is pointed out that in light of these results radical timelessness seems to be the correct way to understand reality and, from the practical point-of-view, it may prove possible to make traversable wormholes whenever we choose to devote sufficient resources to that end.