Related papers: MICROSCOPE mission analysis, requirements and expe…
The Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP), stating that two bodies of different compositions and/or mass fall at the same rate in a gravitational field (universality of free fall), is at the very foundation of General Relativity. The MICROSCOPE…
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 E\"otv\"os ratio $\eta$. Its…
The MICROSCOPE mission aims to test the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) in orbit with an unprecedented precision of 10$^{-15}$ on the E\"otv\"os parameter thanks to electrostatic accelerometers on board a drag-free micro-satellite. The…
According to the Weak Equivalence Principle, all bodies should fall at the same rate in a gravitational field. The MICROSCOPE satellite, launched in April 2016, aims to test its validity at the $10^{-15}$ precision level, by measuring the…
MICROSCOPE's space test of the weak equivalence principle (WEP) is based on the minute measurement of the difference of accelerations experienced by two test masses as they orbit the Earth. A detection of a violation of the WEP would appear…
The MICROSCOPE space mission aims at testing the Equivalence Principle (EP) with an accuracy of $10^{-15}$. The test is based on the precise measurement delivered by a differential electrostatic accelerometer on-board a drag-free…
After performing highly sensitive acceleration measurements during two years of drag-free flight around the Earth, MICROSCOPE provided the best constraint on the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) to date. Beside being a technological…
MICROSCOPE is a French Space Agency mission that aims to test the Weak Equivalence Principle in space down to an accuracy of $10^{-15}$. This is two orders of magnitude better than the current constraints, which will allow us to test…
Testing the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) to a precision of $10^{-15}$ requires a quantity of data that give enough confidence on the final result: ideally, the longer the measurement the better the rejection of thestatistical noise. The…
Tests of the Weak Equivalence Principle can reveal a new, composition dependent, force of nature or disprove many models of new physics. For the first time such a test is successfully carried out in space by the MICROSCOPE satellite. Early…
The space mission MICROSCOPE dedicated to the test of the Equivalence Principle (EP) operated from April 25, 2016 until the deactivation of the satellite on October 16, 2018. In this analysis we compare the free-fall accelerations ($a_{\rm…
The Weak Equivalence Principle is the founding pillar of General Relativity and as such it should be verified as precisely as possible. The Microscope experiment tested it in low Earth orbit, finding that Pt and Ti test masses fall toward…
Tests of the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) probe the foundations of physics. Ever since Galileo in the early 1600s, WEP tests have attracted some of the best experimentalists of any time. Progress has come in bursts, each stimulated by…
The MICROSCOPE space mission aims to test the Equivalence Principle with an accuracy of $10^{-15}$. The drag-free micro-satellite will orbit around the Earth and embark a differential electrostatic accelerometer including two cylindrical…
The Space Time Explorer and QUantum Equivalence principle Space Test (STE-QUEST) recently proposed, aims at performing a precision test of the weak equivalence principle (WEP), a fundamental cornerstone of General Relativity. Taking…
The Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) and the local Lorentz invariance (LLI) are two major assumptions of General Relativity (GR). The MICROSCOPE mission, currently operating, will perform a test of the WEP with a precision of $10^{-15}$.…
The Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) is a central pillar of general relativity. Its precise test with quantum systems in space offers a unique window onto new physics. Here we report the first in-orbit quantum test of the WEP. A…
The MICROSCOPE experiment was designed to test the weak equivalence principle in space, by comparing the low-frequency dynamics of cylindrical "free-falling" test masses controlled by electrostatic forces. We use data taken during technical…
Since the MICROSCOPE instrument aims to measure accelerations as low as a few 10$^{-15}$\,m\,s$^{-2}$ and cannot operate on ground, it was obvious to have a large time dedicated to its characterization in flight. After its release and first…
The weak equivalence principle (WEP) is the cornerstone of gravitational theories. At the local scale, WEP has been tested to high accuracy by various experiments. On the intergalactic distance scale, WEP could be tested by comparing the…