'Galileo Galilei' (GG): space test of the weak equivalence principle to 10^(−17) and laboratory demonstrations

The small satellite ‘Galileo Galilei’ (GG) will test the universality of free fall and hence the weak equivalence principle which is the founding pillar of general relativity to 1 part in 10 17 . It will use proof masses whose atoms differ substantially from one another in their mass energy content, so as to maximize the chance of violation. GG will improve by four orders of magnitude the current best ‘E¨ ot-Wash’ tests based on slowly rotating torsion balances, which have been able to reach their thermal noise level. In GG, the expected violation signal is a relative displacement between the proof masses of � 0.6 pm caused by a differential acceleration aGG � 8 × 10 −17 ms −2 pointing to the center of mass of the Earth as the satellite orbits around it at νGG � 1.7 × 10 −4 Hz. GG will fly an innovative acceleration sensor based on rapidly rotating macroscopic test masses weakly coupled in 2D which up-converts the signal to νspin � 1H z, a value well above the frequency of natural oscillations of the masses relative to each other νd = 1/Td � 1/(540 s). The sensor is unique in that it ensures high rotation frequency, low thermal noise and no attenuation of the signal strength (Pegna et al 2011 Phys. Rev. Lett. 107 200801). A readout based on a very