MICROSCOPE Mission: Final Results of the Test of the Equivalence Principle

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.

NAOMI GAZL: A Multispecies DIAL Tested on the TADI Gas Leak Simulation Facility

We report on a direct detection differential absorption lidar (DIAL), designed for remote detection of CH4 and CO2. The system is based on a single-frequency optical parametric oscillator/amplifier system, tunable in the 1.57-1.65 µm range. The DIAL system, called NAOMI GAZL, was tested on a controlled gas release facility in October 2018.

First Steps of Maturation Towards Space of Nested Cavity Optical Parametric Oscillator and Amplifiers for DIAL Based on Periodically Poled Nonlinear Materials

We report on the first steps of maturation towards space of a nested cavity optical parametric oscillator and amplifiers, based on periodically poled nonlinear materials, emitting in the 2µm range for multi species differential absorption lidar (DIAL).

MICROSCOPE Mission: First Results of a Space Test of the Equivalence Principle

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 force required to maintain two test masses (of titanium and platinum alloys) exactly in the same orbit. A nonvanishing result would correspond to a violation of the equivalence principle, or to the discovery of a new long-range force. Analysis of the first data gives δ(Ti,Pt)=[-1±9(stat)±9(syst)]×10^{-15} (1σ statistical uncertainty) for the titanium-platinum Eötvös parameter characterizing the relative difference in their free-fall accelerations.