| Univ. Bremen Prof. Dr. M. List | Experimental Gravitation (S2, compulsory, 6 ECTS) |
| Learning Outcomes: | – Distinction between foundations and consequences of General Relativity – Overview and principles of modern experimental methods (especially in space) and appropriate mission and orbit design – Overview over important and best experiments carried out so far |
| Knowledge and Understanding: | |
| Applying Knowledge and Understanding: | |
| Prerequisites | Experimental Physics |
| Program | Overview over (i) theoretical framework to describe tests of gravity, (ii) experimental methods, and (iii) performed experiments testing gravity. In more detail – Orbits, environmental disturbances in orbit and their effects on mission/experiment design – Einstein Equivalence Principle: Universality of Free Fall, Universality of the Gravitational Redshift, Local Lorentz Invariance – Test of Universality of Free Fall (free fall, pendulum, torsion pendulum, atom interferometry, space tests), MICROSCOPE Mission – Test of Universality of Gravitational Redshift (clock comparison), Galileo-tests – Gravitational waves: theoretical background and motivation – Technology demonstrators: LISA-Pathfinder and GRACE-FO – Measurement of gravitational waves (LISA) – Benefits of gravity measurement: detect and evaluate the progress of climate change (GRACE and GRACE-FO) |
| Description of how the course is conducted | – Contact hours (lecture + exercise): 56 h (4 h x 14 weeks) – Preparation, learning, exercises: 56 h (4 h x 14 weeks) – Preparation for exam: 68 h Total working hours: 180 h |
| Description of the didactic methods | |
| Description of the evaluation methods | Oral exam |
| Adopted Textbooks | – C. Will: Theory and Experiments in Gravitational Physics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2018. – E. Fischbach and C.L. Talmadge: Search for Non-Newtonian Gravity, Springer, 1999. – Y. Chen and A. Cook: Gravitational Experiments in the Laboratory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1993. – M. List and C. Lämmerzahl: Das Äquivalenzprinzip – Grundlagen, Tests und neueste Messungen, Springer-Essentials, Springer-Nature 2021. |
| Recommended readings |
