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

Pierre Touboul1,*, Gilles Métris2,†, Manuel Rodrigues3,‡, Joel Bergé3, Alain Robert4, Quentin Baghi2,3,§, Yves André4, Judicaël Bedouet5, Damien Boulanger3 et al. (MICROSCOPE Collaboration)

Damien Boulanger3, Stefanie Bremer6,∥, Patrice Carle1, Ratana Chhun3, Bruno Christophe3, Valerio Cipolla4, Thibault Damour7, Pascale Danto4, Louis Demange2, Hansjoerg Dittus8, Océane Dhuicque3, Pierre Fayet9, Bernard Foulon3, Pierre-Yves Guidotti4,¶, Daniel Hagedorn10, Emilie Hardy3, Phuong-Anh Huynh3, Patrick Kayser3, Stéphanie Lala1, Claus Lämmerzahl6, Vincent Lebat3, Françoise Liorzou3, Meike List6,∥, Frank Löffler10, Isabelle Panet11, Martin Pernot-Borràs3, Laurent Perraud4, Sandrine Pires12, Benjamin Pouilloux4,**, Pascal Prieur4, Alexandre Rebray3, Serge Reynaud13, Benny Rievers6, Hanns Selig6,††, Laura Serron2, Timothy Sumner14, Nicolas Tanguy3, Patrizia Torresi4, and Pieter Visser15 (MICROSCOPE Collaboration)

  • 1ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-91123 Palaiseau, France
  • 2Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, IRD, Géoazur, 250 avenue Albert Einstein, F-06560 Valbonne, France
  • 3DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, France
  • 4CNES Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin—31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
  • 5ONERA, Université de Toulouse, F-31055 Toulouse, France
  • 6ZARM, Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity, University of Bremen, Am Fallturm, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
  • 7IHES, Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, 35 Route de Chartres, 91440 Bures-sur-Yvette, France
  • 8DLR, Köln headquarters, Linder Höhe, 51147 Köln, Germany
  • 9Laboratoire 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
  • 10PTB, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Bundesallee 100, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
  • 11IPGP, 35 rue Hélène Brion, 75013 Paris, France
  • 12Université Paris Saclay et Université de Paris, CEA, CNRS, AIM, F-91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
  • 13Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, ENS-PSL Université, Collège de France, 75252 Paris, France
  • 14Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
  • 15Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Kluyverweg 1, 2629 HS Delft, Netherlands

  • *Deceased.
  • †Gilles.Metris@oca.eu
  • ‡manuel.rodrigues@onera.fr
  • §Present address: CEA, Centre de Saclay, IRFU/DPhP, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
  • ∥Present address: DLR, Institute for Satellite Geodesy and Inertial Sensing, Am Fallturm 9, D-28359 Bremen, Germany.
  • Present address: AIRBUS Defence and Space, F-31402 Toulouse, France.
  • **Present address: KINEIS, F-31520 Ramonville Saint-Agne, France.
  • ††Present address: GERADTS GMBH, Kleiner Ort 8, D-28357 Bremen, Germany.
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 121102 – Published 14 September, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.121102

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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Satellite Confirms the Principle of Falling

Published 14 September, 2022

The MICROSCOPE satellite experiment has tested the equivalence principle with an unprecedented level of precision.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 121102– Published 14 September, 2022
  • Received 27 January 2022
  • Revised 10 March 2022
  • Accepted 30 March 2022
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