APSIS - an Artificial Planetary System in Space to probe extra-dimensional gravity and MOND

Authors: Varun Sahni, Yuri Shtanov

(Submitted on 14 Jun 2006 (v1), last revised 5 Dec 2007 (this version, v4))

Abstract: A proposal is made to test Newton's inverse-square law using the perihelion shift of test masses (planets) in free fall within a spacecraft located at the Earth-Sun L2 point. Such an Artificial Planetary System In Space (APSIS) will operate in a drag-free environment with controlled experimental conditions and minimal interference from terrestrial sources of contamination. We demonstrate that such a space experiment can probe the presence of a "hidden" fifth dimension on the scale of a micron, if the perihelion shift of a "planet" can be measured to sub-arc-second accuracy. Some suggestions for spacecraft design are made.

Comments: 17 pages, revtex, references added. To appear in Special issue of IJMPD

Subjects: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc); Astrophysics (astro-ph); High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)

Cite as: arXiv:gr-qc/0606063v4

Submission history

From: Yuri Shtanov [view email]

[v1] Wed, 14 Jun 2006 12:55:51 GMT (14kb)
[v2] Mon, 19 Jun 2006 17:22:11 GMT (15kb)
[v3] Wed, 21 Jun 2006 19:50:22 GMT (15kb)
[v4] Wed, 5 Dec 2007 08:59:17 GMT (16kb)

http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0606063