Testing the weak equivalence principle

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

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...

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...

Dark-matter-induced violation of the weak equivalence principle.

A long-range fifth force coupled to dark matter can induce a coupling to ordinary matter if the dark matter interacts with standard model fields. We consider constraints on such a scenario from both astrophysical observations and laboratory experiments. We also examine the case where the dark matter is a weakly interacting massive particle, and derive relations between the coupling to dark matt...