Prospects for terrestrial equivalence principle tests with a cryogenic torsion pendulum

In this: publication
By this: publisher
In this Subject: Nuclear Physics
By this author: Newman R.

Author: Newman R.

Source: Classical and Quantum Gravity, Volume 18, Number 13, 2001 , pp. 2407-2415(9)

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $45.55 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

A torsion pendulum may be used to measure effective differential accelerations of test masses in the field of sources on distance scales below those accessible in a space experiment such as STEP. Operation of a torsion pendulum at low temperature (2 K) offers many benefits, notably: low thermal noise, high fibre stability, highly effective superconducting magnetic shielding and excellent temperature control. With such an instrument it should be possible to detect differential accelerations as small as [iopmath latex="$10^{-14}$"] 10^-14 [/iopmath] cm s [iopmath latex="$^{-2}$"] ^-2 [/iopmath] , or fractional differential accelerations in the field of the Earth as small as [iopmath latex="$\eta= 10^{-14}$"] = 10^-14 [/iopmath] . This paper discusses the sources of noise and systematic error that limit a cryogenic torsion pendulum in such measurements.

Language: English

Document Type: Miscellaneous

Publication date: 2001-01-01