弱等效原理的实验检验进展

Some progress of the weak equivalence principle test

等效原理是爱因斯坦广义相对论的基本假设之一,然而,试图将引力与其他三种相互作用统一起来的诸多理论模型都要求等效原理破缺.因此,对等效原理进行高精度的实验检验有助于人们加深对等效原理及引力本身的理解.等效原理的理论研究与实验检验也一直是国际上的热点课题与前沿问题.本文主要介绍了国际上检验弱等效原理的各种方法,如单摆法、扭秤法、自由落体法、地月激光测距和空间计划等,并介绍了这些方法的最新研究进展.

The Weak Equivalence Principle （WEP） together with Local Position Invariance （LPI） and Local Lorentz Invariance （LLI） forms the Einstein Equivalence Principle （EEP）, which is one of the basic assumptions of Einstein＇s General Relativity. However, most of the theories trying to unify the gravitation with the quantum world, which is mostly described by the Standard Model, indicate some violation of the WEE So the discovery of violation of the WEP would have a very important scientific significance. Testing the WEP with the highest possible precision is always a frontier issue in the world. This paper introduces almost all the ways of testing the WEP all over the world, including using the simple pendulum, torsion balance, free fall and lunar laser ranging. What＇s more, a lot of space missions have been proposed to test the WEP with a higher precision by many groups and institutions. The latest progress of these tests will also be described here.