Cited by 205Relativity and Gravitational TheoryCosmology and Gravitation TheoriesPulsars and Gravitational Waves Research

M I C R O S C O P E Mission: Final Results of the Test of the Equivalence Principle

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Touboul, Pierre, Métris, Gilles, Rodrigues, Manuel, Bergé, Joel, Robert, Alain, Baghi, Quentin, André, Yves, Bedouet, Judicaël +40 more·2022·Physical Review Letters

Abstract

The MICROSCOPE mission was designed to test the weak equivalence principle (WEP), stating the equality between the inertial and the gravitational masses, with a precision of 10^{-15} in terms of the Eötvös ratio η. Its experimental test consisted of comparing the accelerations undergone by two collocated test masses of different compositions as they orbited the Earth, by measuring the electrostatic forces required to keep them in equilibrium. This was done with ultrasensitive differential electrostatic accelerometers onboard a drag-free satellite. The mission lasted two and a half years, cumulating five months worth of science free-fall data, two-thirds with a pair of test masses of different compositions-titanium and platinum alloys-and the last third with a reference pair of test masses of the same composition-platinum. We summarize the data analysis, with an emphasis on the characterization of the systematic uncertainties due to thermal instabilities and on the correction of short-lived events which could mimic a WEP violation signal. We found no violation of the WEP, with the Eötvös parameter of the titanium and platinum pair constrained to η(Ti,Pt)=[-1.5±2.3(stat)±1.5(syst)]×10^{-15} at 1σ in statistical errors.

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  1. A. Einstein, über das Relativitätsprinzip und die aus demselben gezogene Folgerungen, Jahrb. Radioakt. Elektron. 4, 411 (1907); English translation in The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein Volume 2, (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1989), doc.47.
  2. P. K. Chapman and A. J. Hanson, An Eötvös Experiment in Earth Orbit, edited by R. W. Davies, Proc. Conf. on Experimental Tests of Gravitation Theories (1970), JPL TM 33-499, 228.
  3. P. Touboul, M. Rodrigues, G. Métris, R. Chhun, A. Robert, Q. Baghi, E. Hardy, J. Bergé, D. Boulanger, B. Christophe, V. Cipolla, B. Foulon, P.-Y. Guidotti, P.-A. Huynh, V. Lebat, F. Liorzou, B. Pouilloux, P. Prieur, and S. Reynaud, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 129, 121102 (2022) 121102-7
  4. M. Rodrigues, P. Touboul, G. Métris, J. Bedouet, J. Bergé, R. Chhun, B. Christophe, B. Foulon, P.-Y. Guidotti, and A. Robert, MICROSCOPE Mission scenario and ground segment, arXiv:2201.10841. · arXiv
  5. T. Mayer-Gurr, A. Eicker, and K. H. Ilk, ITG-GRACE02s: A GRACE gravity field derived from short arcs of the satellite's orbit, Proc. First Symp. Int. Grav. Field Ser. 193 (2006).

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Authors
Touboul, P., Métris, G., Rodrigues, M., Bergé, J., Robert, A., Baghi, Q., André, Y., Bedouet, J., Boulanger, D., Bremer, S., Carle, P., Chhun, R., Christophe, B., Cipolla, V., Damour, T., Danto, P., Demange, L., Dittus, H., Dhuicque, O., Fayet, P., Foulon, B., Guidotti, P.-Y., Hagedorn, D., Hardy, E., Huynh, P.-A., Kayser, P., Lala, S., Lämmerzahl, C., Lebat, V., Liorzou, F., List, M., Löffler, F., Panet, I., Pernot-Borràs, M., Perraud, L., Pires, S., Pouilloux, B., Prieur, P., Rebray, A., Reynaud, S., Rievers, B., Selig, H., Serron, L., Sumner, T., Tanguy, N., Torresi, P., Visser, P., & MICROSCOPE Collaboration
Affiliations
  • Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
  • Centre National d'Études Spatiales (FR)
  • Office National d'Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales (FR)
  • University of Bremen (DE)
  • Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (FR)
  • Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR) (DE)
  • Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (DE)
  • Institut de physique du globe de Paris (FR)
  • Imperial College London (GB)
  • Delft University of Technology (NL)
Venue
Physical Review Letters
Published
2022-09-14
Volume
129
Issue
12
Pages
121102-121102
ISSN
  • 0031-9007 (ISSN-L)
  • 1079-7114
OpenAlex
W4295678915
Cited by
205
References
81
Citations by year
2026: 43 · 2025: 56 · 2024: 52 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 10
FWCI
16.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Physical Review Letters (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Media (https://www.suub.uni-bremen.de/) (submittedVersion)
  • Spiral (Imperial College London) (submittedVersion)
  • Research Repository (Delft University of Technology) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
  • Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Bremen
Funders
  • Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales
  • Office National d’études et de Recherches Aérospatiales
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
  • Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt
  • Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (FKZ 50 OY 1305)
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (LA 905/12-1)
  • Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur
  • French National Center for Scientific Research
  • German Space Agency
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Relativity and Gravitational Theory
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
Keywords
MICROSCOPE mission, weak equivalence principle, drag-free satellite, electrostatic accelerometer, systematic uncertainties, thermal instability

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