A quick test of the WEP enabled by a sounding rocket

TL;DR

This paper proposes a high-precision test of the weak equivalence principle using a sounding rocket, aiming to detect potential violations with unprecedented accuracy through laser gauge measurements during free fall.

Contribution

It introduces SR-POEM, a novel experimental setup employing laser gauges and addressing key systematic errors for testing the weak equivalence principle in a sounding rocket environment.

Findings

Projected measurement uncertainty of <10^-16 for η

Laser gauges expected to achieve 0.1 pm/√Hz precision

Addresses magnetic and electrostatic systematic errors

Abstract

We describe SR-POEM, a Galilean test of the weak equivalence principle, which is to be conducted during the free fall portion of a sounding rocket flight. This test of a single pair of substances is aimed at a measurement uncertainty of \sigma(\eta) < 10-16 after averaging the results of eight separate drops, each of 40 s duration. The weak equivalence principle measurement is made with a set of four laser gauges that are expected to achieve 0.1 pm/\sqrt{Hz}. We address the two sources of systematic error that are currently of greatest concern, magnetic force and electrostatic (patch effect) force on the test mass assemblies. The discovery of a violation (\eta \not= 0) would have profound implications for physics, astrophysics and cosmology.