학술논문
“Galileo Galilei” (GG) a small satellite to test the equivalence principle of Galileo, Newton and Einstein
Document Type
Original Paper
Author
Nobili, Anna M.; Comandi, Gian Luca; Doravari, Suresh; Bramanti, Donato; Kumar, Rajeev; Maccarrone, Francesco; Polacco, Erseo; Turyshev, Slava G.; Shao, Michael; Lipa, John; Dittus, Hansjoerg; Laemmerzhal, Claus; Peters, Achim; Mueller, Jurgen; Unnikrishnan, C. S.; Roxburgh, Ian W.; Brillet, Alain; Marchal, Christian; Luo, Jun; van der Ha, Jozef; Milyukov, Vadim; Iafolla, Valerio; Lucchesi, David; Tortora, Paolo; De Bernardis, Paolo; Palmonari, Federico; Focardi, Sergio; Zanello, Dino; Monaco, Salvatore; Mengali, Giovanni; Anselmo, Luciano; Iorio, Lorenzo; Knezevic, Zoran
Source
Experimental Astronomy: Astrophysical Instrumentation and Methods. March 2009 23(2):689-710
Subject
Language
English
ISSN
0922-6435
1572-9508
1572-9508
Abstract
“Galileo Galilei” (GG) is a small satellite designed to fly in low Earth orbit with the goal of testing the Equivalence Principle—which is at the basis of the General Theory of Relativity—to 1 part in 1017 . If successful, it would improve current laboratory results by 4 orders of magnitude. A confirmation would strongly constrain theories; proof of violation is believed to lead to a scientific revolution. The experiment design allows it to be carried out at ambient temperature inside a small 1-axis stabilized satellite (250 kg total mass). GG is under investigation at Phase A-2 level by ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) at Thales Alenia Space in Torino, while a laboratory prototype (known as GGG) is operational at INFN laboratories in Pisa, supported by INFN (Istituto Nazionale di fisica Nucleare) and ASI. A final study report will be published in 2009.