Weak Equivalence Principle Test with Neutrons
The weak equivalence principle (WEP), stating that all objects fall in the same way in a gravitational field, regardless of their composition, is a postulate underlying Einstein's theory of relativity. It has been tested with increasing precision throughout history. However, recent proposals to explain dark energy (such as the string-motivated dilaton) predict apparent violation of the WEP. Here, we propose to perform a full test of the WEP using neutrons and 87Rb atoms by measuring the differential acceration between the two species in qBounce and a mobile atom interferometer operated at the same place and time. The large difference in masses between n and 87Rb improves the sensitivity on the test of the differential acceleration by a factor ~100. Moreover, this would be the first WEP test using single hadrons, and the best present test of the Newton equivalence principle (equivalence of inertial and gravitational mass) using neutrons (hadrons) only.
The data is currently only available to download if you are a member of the proposal team.
The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is in the following format:
René I. P. Sedmik; ABELE Hartmut; Joachim Bosina; Heiner Denker; JENKE Tobias; MICKO Jakob; Sandeep S. Cranganore; TIMMEN Ludger and TRAUNER Janik. (2021). Weak Equivalence Principle Test with Neutrons. Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) doi:10.5291/ILL-DATA.3-14-415
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This data is not yet public
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