We tested the equivalence principle at short length scales by rotating a 3-ton 238U attractor around a compact torsion balance containing Cu and Pb test bodies. The observed differential acceleration of the test bodies toward the attractor, aCu−aPb=(1.0±2.8)×10−13 cm/s2, should be compared to the corresponding gravitational acceleration of 9.2×10−5 cm/s2. Our results set new constraints on equivalence-principle violating interactions with Yukawa ranges down to 1 cm, and improve by substantial factors existing limits for ranges between 10 km and 1000 km. Our data also set strong constraints on certain power law potentials that can arise from two-boson exchange processes.
@article{arxiv.2405.10982,
title = {Short-range tests of the equivalence principle},
author = {G. L. Smith and C. D. Hoyle and J. H. Gundlach and E. G. Adelberger and B. R. Heckel and H. E. Swanson},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.10982},
year = {2024}
}
Comments
Copyright: American Physical Society (APS), 20 pages, 22 figures