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 sigma(eta) < 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 (eta not equal to 0) would have profound implications for physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.
@article{arxiv.1001.4752,
title = {A weak equivalence principle test on a suborbital rocket},
author = {Robert D. Reasenberg and James D. Phillips},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1001.4752},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
To be published in Classical and Quantum Gravity. 14 pages, 6 figures. Further information available at http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/poem/