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Touboul P, Métris G, Rodrigues M, Bergé J, Robert A, Baghi Q, André Y, Bedouet J, Boulanger D, Bremer S, Carle P, Chhun R, Christophe B, Cipolla V, Damour T, Danto P, Demange L, Dittus H, Dhuicque O, Fayet P, Foulon B, Guidotti PY, Hagedorn D, Hardy E, Huynh PA, Kayser P, Lala S, Lämmerzahl C, Lebat V, Liorzou F, List M, Löffler F, Panet I, Pernot-Borràs M, Perraud L, Pires S, Pouilloux B, Prieur P, Rebray A, Reynaud S, Rievers B, Selig H, Serron L, Sumner T, Tanguy N, Torresi P, Visser P. MICROSCOPE Mission: Final Results of the Test of the Equivalence Principle. Phys Rev Lett 2022; 129:121102. [PMID: 36179190 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.129.121102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
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 Eötvös ratio η. Its experimental test consisted of comparing the accelerations undergone by two collocated test masses of different compositions as they orbited the Earth, by measuring the electrostatic forces required to keep them in equilibrium. This was done with ultrasensitive differential electrostatic accelerometers onboard a drag-free satellite. The mission lasted two and a half years, cumulating five months worth of science free-fall data, two-thirds with a pair of test masses of different compositions-titanium and platinum alloys-and the last third with a reference pair of test masses of the same composition-platinum. We summarize the data analysis, with an emphasis on the characterization of the systematic uncertainties due to thermal instabilities and on the correction of short-lived events which could mimic a WEP violation signal. We found no violation of the WEP, with the Eötvös parameter of the titanium and platinum pair constrained to η(Ti,Pt)=[-1.5±2.3(stat)±1.5(syst)]×10^{-15} at 1σ in statistical errors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Touboul
- ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-91123 Palaiseau, France
| | - Gilles Métris
- Université Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, IRD, Géoazur, 250 avenue Albert Einstein, F-06560 Valbonne, France
| | | | - Joel Bergé
- DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, France
| | - Alain Robert
- CNES Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin-31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Quentin Baghi
- Université Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, IRD, Géoazur, 250 avenue Albert Einstein, F-06560 Valbonne, France
- DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, France
| | - Yves André
- CNES Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin-31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | | | | | - Stefanie Bremer
- ZARM, Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity, University of Bremen, Am Fallturm, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Patrice Carle
- ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-91123 Palaiseau, France
| | - Ratana Chhun
- DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, France
| | | | - Valerio Cipolla
- CNES Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin-31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Thibault Damour
- IHES, Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, 35 Route de Chartres, 91440 Bures-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Pascale Danto
- CNES Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin-31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Louis Demange
- Université Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, IRD, Géoazur, 250 avenue Albert Einstein, F-06560 Valbonne, France
| | | | - Océane Dhuicque
- DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, France
| | - Pierre Fayet
- Laboratoire de physique de l'Ecole normale supérieure, ENS, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris, F-75005 Paris, France, and CPhT, Ecole polytechnique, IPP, F-91128 Palaiseau, France
| | - Bernard Foulon
- DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, France
| | | | - Daniel Hagedorn
- PTB, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Bundesallee 100, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Emilie Hardy
- DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, France
| | | | - Patrick Kayser
- DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, France
| | - Stéphanie Lala
- ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-91123 Palaiseau, France
| | - Claus Lämmerzahl
- ZARM, Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity, University of Bremen, Am Fallturm, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Vincent Lebat
- DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, France
| | | | - Meike List
- ZARM, Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity, University of Bremen, Am Fallturm, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Frank Löffler
- PTB, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Bundesallee 100, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
| | | | | | - Laurent Perraud
- CNES Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin-31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Sandrine Pires
- Université Paris Saclay et Université de Paris, CEA, CNRS, AIM, F-91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | | | - Pascal Prieur
- CNES Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin-31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | | | - Serge Reynaud
- Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, ENS-PSL Université, Collège de France, 75252 Paris, France
| | - Benny Rievers
- ZARM, Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity, University of Bremen, Am Fallturm, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Hanns Selig
- ZARM, Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity, University of Bremen, Am Fallturm, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Laura Serron
- Université Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, IRD, Géoazur, 250 avenue Albert Einstein, F-06560 Valbonne, France
| | - Timothy Sumner
- Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Nicolas Tanguy
- DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, France
| | - Patrizia Torresi
- CNES Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin-31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Pieter Visser
- Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Kluyverweg 1, 2629 HS Delft, Netherlands
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Bergé J, Brax P, Métris G, Pernot-Borràs M, Touboul P, Uzan JP. MICROSCOPE Mission: First Constraints on the Violation of the Weak Equivalence Principle by a Light Scalar Dilaton. Phys Rev Lett 2018; 120:141101. [PMID: 29694146 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.120.141101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2017] [Revised: 01/09/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The existence of a light or massive scalar field with a coupling to matter weaker than gravitational strength is a possible source of violation of the weak equivalence principle. We use the first results on the Eötvös parameter by the MICROSCOPE experiment to set new constraints on such scalar fields. For a massive scalar field of mass smaller than 10^{-12} eV (i.e., range larger than a few 10^{5} m), we improve existing constraints by one order of magnitude to |α|<10^{-11} if the scalar field couples to the baryon number and to |α|<10^{-12} if the scalar field couples to the difference between the baryon and the lepton numbers. We also consider a model describing the coupling of a generic dilaton to the standard matter fields with five parameters, for a light field: We find that, for masses smaller than 10^{-12} eV, the constraints on the dilaton coupling parameters are improved by one order of magnitude compared to previous equivalence principle tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel Bergé
- DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, France
| | - Philippe Brax
- Institut de Physique Théorique, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
| | - Gilles Métris
- Université Côte d'Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, CNRS, IRD, Géoazur, 250 avenue Albert Einstein, F-06560 Valbonne, France
| | - Martin Pernot-Borràs
- DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, France
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, IAP, F-75014 Paris, France
| | - Pierre Touboul
- DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, France
| | - Jean-Philippe Uzan
- Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS UMR 7095, Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris VI, 98 bis Boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
- Sorbonne Universités, Institut Lagrange de Paris, 98 bis, Boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
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