English

Tests of relativity using a microwave resonator

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2009-11-07 v2

Abstract

The frequencies of a cryogenic sapphire oscillator and a hydrogen maser are compared to set new constraints on a possible violation of Lorentz invariance. We determine the variation of the oscillator frequency as a function of its orientation (Michelson-Morley test) and of its velocity (Kennedy-Thorndike test) with respect to a preferred frame candidate. We constrain the corresponding parameters of the Mansouri and Sexl test theory to δβ+1/2=(1.5±4.2)×109\delta - \beta + 1/2 = (1.5\pm 4.2) \times 10^{-9} and βα1=(3.1±6.9)×107\beta - \alpha - 1 = (-3.1\pm 6.9) \times 10^{-7} which is equivalent to the best previous result for the former and represents a 30 fold improvement for the latter.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.gr-qc/0210049,
  title  = {Tests of relativity using a microwave resonator},
  author = {Peter Wolf and Sébastien Bize and André Clairon and André N. Luiten and Giorgio Santarelli and Michael E. Tobar},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:gr-qc/0210049},
  year   = {2009}
}

Comments

8 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letters (October 3, 2002)

R2 v1 2026-07-22T12:36:39.909Z