Matter wave explorer of gravity (MWXG)
- Author(s)
- Wolfgang Ertmer, Christian Schubert, Thijs Wendrich, Michael Gilowski, Maic Zaiser, Tim van Zoest, Ernst M. Rasel, Christian Borde, Andre Clairon, Arnaud Landragin, Jean-Luc Laurent, Pierre Lemonde, Giorgio Santarelli, Wolfgang P. Schleich, Francesco S Cataliotti, Massimo Inguscio, Nicola Poli, Fiodor Sorrentino, C Mondugno, Guglielmo M Tino, Patrick Gill, Hugh Klein, Helen Margolis, Serge Reynaud, Christophe Salomon, Astrid Lambrecht, Ekkehard Peik, Christian Jentsch, Ulrich Johann, Andreas Rathke, Philippe Bouyer, Luigi Cacciapuoti, Paolo De Natale, Bruno Christophe, Bernard Foulon, Pierre Touboul, Lute Maleki, Nan Yu, Slava G. Turyshev, John D Anderson, Ferdinand Schmidt-Kaler, Reinhold Walser, Jacques Vigué, Matthias Büchner, M.-C Angonin, Pacome Delva, P Tourrenc, Robert J. Bingham, Barry Kent, Andreas Wicht, L.J.v Wang, Kai Bongs, Hansjörg J. Dittus, Claus Lämmerzahl, Stephan Theil, Klaus Sengstock, Achim Peters, Thomas Müller, Markus Arndt, Luciano Iess, François Bondu, A Brillet, Etienne Samain, M.L Chiofalo, Filippo Levi, Davide Calonico
- Abstract
In response to ESA’s Call for proposals of 5 March 2007 of the COSMIC VISION 2015–2025 plan of the ESA science programme, we propose a M-class satellite mission to test of the Equivalence Principle in the quantum domain by investigating the extended free fall of matter waves instead of macroscopic bodies as in the case of GAUGE, MICROSCOPE or STEP. The satellite, called Matter Wave Explorer of Gravity, will carry an experiment to test gravity, namely the measurement of the equal rate of free fall with various isotopes of distinct atomic species with precision cold atom interferometry in the vicinity of the earth. This will allow for a first quantum test the Equivalence Principle with spin polarised particles and with pure fermionic and bosonic atomic ensembles. Due to the space conditions, the free fall of Rubidium and Potassium isotopes will be compared with a maximum accelerational sensitivity of 5·10?-?16 m/s2 corresponding to an accuracy of the test of the Equivalence Principle of 1 part in 1016. Besides the primary scientific goal, the quantum test of the Equivalence Principle, the mission can be extended to provide additional information about the gravitational field of the earth or for testing theories of fundamental processes of decoherence which are investigated by various theory groups in the context of quantum gravity phenomenology. In this proposal we present in detail the mission objectives and the technical aspects of the proposed mission.
- Organisation(s)
- Quantum Optics, Quantum Nanophysics and Quantum Information
- External organisation(s)
- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover, Université de recherche Paris Sciences et Lettres, Universität Ulm, University of Florence, National Physical Laboratory, École Normale Supérieure, Paris , Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, EADS Astrium, Laboratoire Charles Fabry, Science and Operations Department - Science Division (SCI-SC), Institute of Genetics and Biophysics "Adriano Buzzati-Traverso", CNR, ONERA-The French Aerospac Lab., California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Global Aerospace Corporation, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Université Paris VI - Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, University of Birmingham, Universität Bremen, Universität Hamburg, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Sapienza University of Rome, Université Côte d'Azur, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Instituto Elettrotecnico Nazionale Galileo Ferraris (IENGF), Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (ÖAW)
- Journal
- Experimental Astronomy
- Volume
- 23
- Pages
- 611-649
- No. of pages
- 39
- ISSN
- 0922-6435
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-008-9125-6
- Publication date
- 2009
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 602017 Indo-European studies
- Portal url
- https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/matter-wave-explorer-of-gravity-mwxg(9719a788-fb42-47ae-8470-b18f5d58e6f8).html