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Testing the weak equivalence principle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2010

Anna M. Nobili ,
Gian Luca Comandi ,
Raffaello Pegna ,
Donato Bramanti ,
Suresh Doravari ,
Francesco Maccarone  and
David M. Lucchesi
Anna M. Nobili
Affiliation:
Department of Physics “E. Fermi”, University of Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, Italy email: nobili@dm.unipi.it INFN Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
Gian Luca Comandi
Affiliation:
INFN Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
Raffaello Pegna
Affiliation:
INFN Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
Donato Bramanti
Affiliation:
Department of Physics “E. Fermi”, University of Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, Italy email: nobili@dm.unipi.it
Suresh Doravari
Affiliation:
Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Francesco Maccarone
Affiliation:
Department of Physics “E. Fermi”, University of Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, Italy email: nobili@dm.unipi.it INFN Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
David M. Lucchesi
Affiliation:
INFN Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, Italy INAF-IFSI Istituto Nazionale di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy
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Abstract

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The discovery of Dark Energy and the fact that only about 5% of the mass of the universe can be explained on the basis of the current laws of physics have led to a serious impasse. Based on past history, physics might indeed be on the verge of major discoveries; but the challenge is enormous. The way to tackle it is twofold. On one side, scientists try to perform large scale direct observations and measurements – mostly from space. On the other, they multiply their efforts to put to the most stringent tests ever the physical theories underlying the current view of the physical world, from the very small to the very large. On the extremely small scale very exciting results are expected from one of the most impressive experiments in the history of mankind: the Large Hadron Collider. On the very large scale, the universe is dominated by gravity and the present impasse undoubtedly calls for more powerful tests of General Relativity – the best theory of gravity to date. Experiments testing the Weak Equivalence Principle, on which General Relativity ultimately lies, have the strongest probing power of them all; a breakthrough in sensitivity is possible with the “Galileo Galilei” (GG) satellite experiment to fly in low Earth orbit.

Keywords

GravitationLarge-scale structure of universe
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 5 , Symposium S261: Relativity in Fundamental Astronomy: Dynamics, Reference Frames, and Data Analysis , April 2009 , pp. 390 - 401
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2010

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