LARES/WEBER-SAT and the equivalence principle

LARES/WEBER-SAT and the equivalence principle

It has often been claimed that the proposed Earth artificial satellite LARES/WEBER-SAT−whose primary goal is, in fact, the measurement of the general relativistic Lense-Thirring effect at a some percent level−would allow to greatly improve, among (many) other things, the present−day (10) level of accuracy in testing the equivalence principle as well. Recent claims point towards even two orders ...

The Equivalence Principle, the Covariance Principle

The equivalence principle, which states the local equivalence between acceleration and gravity, requires that a free falling observer must result in a co-moving local Minkowski space. On the other hand, covariance principle assumes any Gaussian system to be valid as a space-time coordinate system. Given the mathematical existence of the co-moving local Minkowski space along a time-like geodesic...

The Equivalence Principle

Questioning the Equivalence Principle

The Equivalence Principle (EP) is not one of the “universal” principles of physics (like the Action Principle). It is a heuristic hypothesis which was introduced by Einstein in 1907, and used by him to construct his theory of General Relativity. In modern language, the (Einsteinian) EP consists in assuming that the only long-range field with gravitational-strength couplings to matter is a massl...

Is the Principle of Equivalence a Principle?

The work argues the principle of equivalence to be a theorem and not a principle (in a sense of an axiom). It contains a detailed analysis of the concepts of normal and inertial frame of reference. The equivalence principle is proved to be valid (at every point and along every path) in any gravitational theory based on linear connections. Possible generalizations of the equivalence principle ar...