Test of the equivalence principle in space |
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Authors: | A M Nobili |
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Institution: | (1) Gruppo di Meccanica Spaziale, Dipartimento di Matematica dell'Università, Via Buonarroti 2, 56127 Pisa, Italia |
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Abstract: | Summary Any violation of the equivalence principle (EP) between test masses in the near-Earth orbit is about 500 times bigger than
on the ground, which makes the case for a space experiment very strong. Indeed, ESA and NASA (the European Space Agency and
the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration) are currently studying at Phase A level the space mission STEP,
whose main goal is to test the universality of free fall to 1 part in 1017 by means of a combination of very advanced technologies (drag free with proportional thrusters, superfluid-He temperature,
SQUID sensors). We discuss the key features of STEP as well as some novel ideas about the possibility of testing the equivalence
principle at room temperature in a non-drag-free satellite.
Paper presented at the 6th Cosmic Physics National Conference, Palermo, 3–7 November 1992. |
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Keywords: | Experimental tests of general relativity and observations of gravitational radiation |
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