Can MOND type hypotheses be tested in a free fall laboratory environment?
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Date
2015-12-15
Authors
Das, Saurya
Patitsas, Steve
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Abstract
The extremely small accelerations of objects required for the the onset of modified Newtonian
dynamics, or MOND, makes testing the hypothesis in conventional terrestrial laboratories virtually
impossible. This is due to the large background acceleration of Earth, which is transmitted to the
acceleration of test objects within an apparatus. We show however, that it may be possible to
test MOND-type hypotheses with experiments using a conventional apparatus capable of tracking
very small accelerations of its components, but performed in locally inertial frames such as artifi-
cial satellites and other freely falling laboratories. For example, experiments involving an optical
interferometer or a torsion balance in these laboratories would show nonlinear dynamics, and dis-
placement amplitudes larger than expected. These experiments may also be able to test potential
violations of the strong equivalence principle by MOND and to distinguish between its two possible
interpretations (modified inertia and modified gravity).
Description
Sherpa Romeo green journal. Permission to archive final published version.
Keywords
Modified Newtonian dynamics , MOND , Freely falling , Locally inertial frame
Citation
Das, S., & Patitsas, S. N. (2013). Can MOND type hypothesis be tested in a free fall laboratory environment? Physical Review D., 87(10), 107101. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.87.107101