A novel violation of the equivalence principle

TL;DR

This paper proposes that violations of the equivalence principle may depend on an object's distance from a gravitating body, challenging the traditional view that such violations are solely due to internal properties.

Contribution

It introduces a distance-dependent model for equivalence principle violations and provides a covariant framework for testing this novel hypothesis.

Findings

Distance can influence equivalence principle violations.

A covariant framework for testing distance-dependent effects.

Proposes experimental approaches to verify the hypothesis.

Abstract

It is generally assumed that any discrepancy between an object's inertial and gravitational masses, leading to a violation of the equivalence principle, arises from the nature of its internal constituents and their interactions. We show here that the difference can instead be a function of the distance of the object from a gravitating body, and suggest ways of testing this, illustrating side-by-side a covariant framework for the same.