The Equivalence Principle is the
founding pillar of General Relativity and therefore deserves to be tested as accurately as
possible. The paper by Fischbach et al. (PRL 1986) has drawn attention to the experimental
bases of gravity, stimulating scientists all over the world to undertake challenging,
small-force gravitational experiments. The "Eöt-Wash" group has carried out the
most systematic and successful tests so far. Lunar Laser Ranging data -perhaps the
greatest legacy from the missions to the Moon of the 1970s- allow scientists to test the
Equivalence principle with celestial bodies. Three space agencies around the world (NASA,
ASI and CNES) are considering space missions in low Earth orbit (STEP, "GALILEO
GALILEI-GG", Microscope) and a balloon experiment (GREAT) to test the Equivalence
Principle to very high accuracy. New drag-compensation technologies (FEEP thrusters) are
under development which will help in reducing the exceedingly large effect of residual air
drag and solar radiation pressure on the spacecraft. Attenuation of seismic/vibration
noise in gravity wave detectors (VIRGO) has reached unprecedented levels. Overall, time
appears to be ready for space science and technology to provide new, important
contributions in fundamental physics. The Workshop comes at completion of the "GG
Advanced Phase A Study", funded by ASI and carried out by the GG science/industry
team.
To present the results of the "GG
advanced Phase A Study", covering the new GG orbit and mission design as well as the
status of the laboratory instrument prototype and the recent analysis of
experimental data
To report on recent and planned
ground tests of the equivalence principle
To provide the occasion for an open
scientific discussion on the design of space and balloon Equivalence Principle experiments
under study
To present recent developments on FEEP
thrusters for fine drag compensation in space missions devoted to small force
gravitational experiments
To bring together scientists involved in
challenging gravitational experiments to learn from each other and share their knowledge
and expertise
S. H.
Crandall, MIT, USA
V. Iafolla, IFSI-CNR, Italy
E. Fischbach, Purdue University, USA
B. R. Heckel, University of Washington, USA
J. Lipa, Stanford University, USA
E. Lorenzini, SAO, USA
J. Luo, Huazhong University, China
C. Marchal, ONERA, France
F. Melchiorri, Universita' di Roma "La Sapienza", Italia
J. Mueller, University of Hannover, Germany
A. M. Nobili, Universita' di Pisa, Italia
F. Palmonari, Universita' di Bologna, Italia
G. Pizzella, Universita' di Roma "Tor Vergata", Italia I. W. Roxburgh, QM&W, UK (Chair) G. Ruoso, INFN-Legnaro, Italia
G. Tino, Universita' di Firenze, Italia
C.S. Unnikrishnan, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, India
David Blair, University of Western Australia: High sensitivity tilt
measurements
Ephraim Fishbach: Testing newtonian gravity at nanometer distance scale
Jens Gundlach, University of Washington: "Eöt-Wash" torsion balance results on
EP testing, G measurement, submillimeter tests of inverse-square law: I
Anna Nobili: GG: design, error budget and significance of the ground prototype
Christian Marchal, ONERA: MICROSCOPE
Andrea Milani, Universita' di Pisa: GR tests with BepiColombo
Terry Quinn, BIPM: G measurements
Vincenzo Dattilo: VIRGO seismic isolation system
Massimo Bassan, Universita' di Roma Tor Vergata: Measurement of small forces on large
masses: resonant gravitational wav detectors
Tim Sumner, Imperial College, London: STEP
Angelo Tartaglia: Politecnico di Torino, Can rotating bodies produce general relativistic
effects in a laboratory?
Valerio Iafolla, IFSI-CNR: Test of the equivalence principle in an Einstein Elevator:
progress report
Wei Tou Ni, National Tsing Hua University: ASTROD
Salvo Marcuccio, Universita' di Pisa & Centrospazio: FEEP thrusters
Jens Gundlach, University of Washington: "Eöt-Wash" torsion balance results on
EP testing, G measurement, submillimeter tests of inverse-square law: II
Ephraim Fishbach: Deflection of spacecraft trajectory as a new test of general relativity
Gianluca Comandi: The GGG prototype
Giuseppe Ruoso, INFN-Legnaro: Measurement of Casimir force
Guglielmo Tino, Universita' di Firenze: Proposed cold atoms gravimeter
Alberto Anselmi, Alenia Spazio, Torino: GG satellite in sun synchronous orbit
David Lucchesi, IFSI-CNR, Rome: LAGEOS II perigee shift and Schwarzschild gravitoelectric
field
Christian Marchal, ONERA: Does a rapidly rotating body fall slower than a non rotating
one?
Federico Palmonari, Universita' di Bologna: G measurement with superconducting gravimeter
Angela di Virgilio, INFN-Pisa: Status report of the Low Frequency Facility (Virgo R&D)
to measure the Virgo suspension thermal noise
Raffaella Toncelli, Universita' di Pisa: Radiometer effect in space tests of the
equivalence principle
Valerio Iafolla, IFSI-CNR, Roma: G measurement with differential gradiometer: preliminary
results
Luca Haiberger, University of Dusseldorf: Measurement of gravitational force at short
distance
Albrecht Ruediger, Max Planck Institut for Gravitation, Garching:
Outgassing effects in space borne position sensors
Workshop dinner on May 28 (with after dinner talk by ASI Director of Science)
On May 29, visit to the GG prototype accelerometer in the
laboratories of Laben-Divisione Proel Tecnologie, Firenze
D. Blair: High sensitivity tilt measurements (25')
J. Gundlach: "Eöt-Wash" torsion balance results on EP testing, G measurement,
submillimeter tests of inverse-square law: I (30')
T. Quinn: G measurements (30')
Coffee break
C. Marchal: Microscope (30')
A. Anselmi: GG satellite in sun synchronous orbit (25')
T. Sumner: STEP (30')
Lunch break
Afternoon session (starting 14.30, Chair R. Drever)
A. di Virgilio: Status report of the Low Frequency Facility, Virgo R&D, to measure
Virgo suspension thermal noise (25')
V. Dattilo: VIRGO seismic isolation system (30')
Wei Tou Ni: ASTROD (30')
Coffee break
A. Nobili: GG: design, error budget and significance of the ground prototype (30')
E. Fishbach: Testing newtonian gravity at nanometer distance scale (30')
M. Bassan: Measurement of small forces on large masses: resonant gravitational wave
detectors (25')
V. Iafolla:Test of the equivalence principle in an Einstein elevator: progress report
(25')
F. Palmonari: G measurement with superconducting gravimeter (25')
Tuesday,
May 28
Morning session (starting 9 am., Chair: J. Gundlach)
E. Fishbach: Deflection of spacecraft trajectory as a new test of general relativity (25')
D. Lucchesi: LAGEOS II perigee shift and Schwarzschild gravitoelectric field (25')
C. Marchal: General theory of relativity: does a rapidly rotating body fall slower than a
non rotating body? (25')
G. Ruoso: Measurement of the Casimir force between parallel metallic surfaces (25')
Coffeee break
G. Comandi: The GGG prototype (25')
J. Stuhler: Proposed cold atoms gravimeter (25')
L. Haiberger:Measurement of gravitational force at short distance (25')
Lunch break
Afternoon session (starting 14.30, Chair E. Fishbach)
J. Gundlach: "Eöt-Wash" torsion balance results on EP testing, G measurement,
submillimeter tests of inverse-square law: II (30')
A. Tartaglia: Can rotating bodies produce general relativistic effects in a laboratory?
(25')
A. Milani: Tests of general relativity with the BepiColombo mission to Mercury (30')
Coffee break
R. Toncelli: Radiometer effect in space experiments to test the equivalence principle
(25')
A. Ruediger: Outgassing effects in space borne position sensors (25')
V.Iafolla: G measurement with differential gradiometer: preliminary results (25')
S. Marcuccio: FEEP thrusters for small force space missions (30')
Workshop official dinner and after dinner
talk by ASI Science Director Giovanni Bignami on:
Galileo's heritage: planets, art, history
Wednesday, May 29
Visit to the GG prototype accelerometer in the laboratories of
Laben-Divisione Proel Tecnologie, Firenze (9-13)
Registration fee 150 Euro including coffee
breaks, lunch, final dinner and visit to Florence
Send e-mail to the chairman of the
scientific organizing committee Professor
Ian W Roxburgh (copy to A.M. Nobili
for the local committee) to submit your contribution to the workshop (give title and
abstract). Write before May 10, 2002.
The Workshop will not have general reviews
neither very short abstract-type presentations. It is intended for talks of reasonable
duration (from 15 to 30 minutes, plus 5 to 10 minutes for discussion), with enough time to
present (and discuss) the status of the art, the progress made and the open problems. The
Scientific Committee will take care to publish on the GG website the viewgraphs of the
talks, in appropriate electronic format and after checking the content with the author. A
hard copy of all viewgraphs will be distributed on CD-Rom. In addition, it is likely
that there will be enough new material that the authors may be willing to publish.
If so, the Scientific Committee will take care, as soon as the Workshop is over, to obtain
the agreement of a refereed Journal to publish all the papers together. Leaving a trace
behind the Workshop will help to strengthen the subject, to widen the community, to
educate young scientists.
Where and when, Hotel reservation, maps,
bikes...
On May 27 and 28 the Workshop
will take place at former convent of Santa Croce in Fossabanda, Piazza Santa Croce 5,
56125 Pisa (www.fossabanda.it). The convent goes back to the 14th century. It has recently
been turned into a conference center and Hotel by the local administration of Pisa and it
is run by a local cooperative.
A number of rooms has been
reserved for the Workshop but it is necessary to book before May 10 (write to the local
organizing Committee of the Workshop). A very nice conference room has been reserved for
the Workshop. Booking by May 10 is preferable (double room: Euro 82.63; double room used
by one person only: Euro 61.97). We shall also have access to the cloister (in particular
for coffee breaks and lunch buffet), the gardens and common facilities.
Overhead projector and
PC-connected video projector will be available. Access to e-mail and the Internet for the
participants will be possible at the University (Space Mechanics Group, Department of
Mathematics, Via Buonarroti 2, Pisa).
On May 29 a trip to the Florence
is organized for the participants willing to visit the GGG apparatus at the Laben-Proel
tecnologie laboratories (Viale Machiavelli 31, Firenze)
Below is a map of Pisa (East and
West side). The Santa Croce in Fossabanda convent is on the East side of the town
indicated by an arrow. The other arrow in the same map shows where the Space Mechanics
Group is located, at the Mathematics Department of the University of Pisa (building not
drawn).
Bike
renting may be possible for those who are interested (there are almost no up-hills in
Pisa...)
