OPTIS - a satellite-based test of Special and General Relativity

TL;DR

This paper proposes a satellite-based experiment to test Special and General Relativity with significantly improved precision using ultrastable optical cavities and atomic clocks.

Contribution

It introduces a novel satellite experiment design that enhances the accuracy of tests of relativity by several orders of magnitude.

Findings

Expected three orders of magnitude improvement in Michelson-Morley test

Over one order of magnitude enhancement in Kennedy-Thorndike test

Two orders of magnitude better test of gravitational red shift

Abstract

A new satellite based test of Special and General Relativity is proposed. For the Michelson-Morley experiment we expect an improvement of at least three orders of magnitude, and for the Kennedy-Thorndike experiment an improvement of more than one order of magnitude. Furthermore, an improvement by two orders of the test of the universality of the gravitational red shift by comparison of an atomic clock with an optical clock is projected. The tests are based on ultrastable optical cavities, an atomic clock and a comb generator.