Testing Einstein’s weak equivalence principle with gravitational waves

Equivalence principle and gravitational redshift.

We investigate leading order deviations from general relativity that violate the Einstein equivalence principle in the gravitational standard model extension. We show that redshift experiments based on matter waves and clock comparisons are equivalent to one another. Consideration of torsion balance tests, along with matter-wave, microwave, optical, and Mössbauer clock tests, yields comprehensi...

Metric fluctuations and the Weak Equivalence Principle

We describe space–time fluctuations by means of small fluctuations of the metric on a given background metric. From a minimally coupled Klein–Gordon equation we obtain within a weakfield approximation up to second order and an averaging procedure over a finite space–time scale given by the quantum particle in the non–relativistic limit a modified Schrödinger equation. The dominant modification ...

Dark-Matter-Induced Weak Equivalence Principle Violation

On the possibility of testing the Weak Equivalence Principle with artificial Earth satellites

In this paper we examine the possibility of testing the equivalence principle, in its weak form, by analyzing the orbital motion of a pair of artificial satellites of different composition moving along orbits of identical shape and size in the gravitational field of Earth. It turns out that the obtainable level of accuracy is, realistically, of the order of 10−10 or slightly better. It is limit...

Testing the Equivalence Principle : Why and How ?

Part of the theoretical motivation for improving the present level of testing of the equivalence principle is reviewed. The general rationale for optimizing the choice of pairs of materials to be tested is presented. One introduces a simpliied rationale based on a trichotomy of competing classes of theoretical models. 1. Why testing the equivalence principle ? Einstein introduced in 1907 1] wha...