Talk detail

Participant	Pernot-Borràs, Martin
Institution	ONERA - 29 Avenue de la Division Leclerc - Châtillon - Ile-de-France - France

Session	PT6	Accepted		Order	Time
Talk	Oral abstract	Title	The MICROSCOPE mission: first constraints on theories of modified gravity.
Coauthors
Abstract	MICROSCOPE is a French space mission developed by ONERA and CNES, which recently improved the test of the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) by an order of magnitude, reaching a level of 2.10^-14 on the Eötvos parameter. The experiment is based on testing Universality of Free Fall in orbit, with an ultrasensitive accelerometer composed of two test masses of different composition. The results of this experiment may provide new constraints on alternative theories of gravity. This work aims to compute these constraints. It focuses on scalar-tensor theories, which introduce a new scalar field besides Einstein’s gravity. By coupling to matter, it gives rise to a 5th force that can violate WEP or induce other effects that should appear in MICROSCOPE data. In this talk, I will present our new constraints on the Dilaton model and show newest results on the Chameleon model. This latter scalar field was proposed as a dark energy candidate that could satisfy local gravity constraints through a screening mechanism. Such mechanism makes its dynamics such, that its associated 5th force can be negligible in high density environment. Being in space, MICROSCOPE represents an unprecedented opportunity for testing the existence of a Chameleon.
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