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Advanced charge control dynamics simulation for the LISA gravitational reference sensor
Kenyon, Samantha Parry; Apple, Stephen; Siu, John +2 more
A gravitational wave detector in space, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will be able to detect gravitational waves in the frequency range of 0.1 mHz–1 Hz, adding to humanity's knowledge of the dark cosmos. The LISA gravitational reference sensor contains a test mass (TM) and is used to determine the local inertial reference frame and…
Estimate of force noise from electrostatic patch potentials in LISA Pathfinder
Ferroni, V.; Sala, L.; Vitale, S. +1 more
This paper discusses force noise in LISA and LISA Pathfinder arising from the interaction of patch potentials on the test mass and surrounding electrode housing surfaces with their own temporal fluctuations. We aim to estimate the contribution of this phenomenon to the force noise detected in LISA Pathfinder in excess of the background from Browni…
Residual gas damping noise in constrained volume in space-borne gravitational wave detection
Luo, Jie; Tan, Yu-Jie; Shao, Cheng-Gang +4 more
The residual gas damping in the enclosure surrounding a free-fall test mass is an important limiting factor for the sensitivity of some space detection missions. We present a constrained volume damping model for space-borne gravitational wave detection, which depends on the escape time needed for a molecule to diffuse out of the gap between two ad…
Result of the MICROSCOPE weak equivalence principle test
Bergé, Joel; Pernot-Borràs, Martin; Chhun, Ratana +44 more
The space mission MICROSCOPE dedicated to the test of the equivalence principle (EP) operated from April 25, 2016 until the deactivation of the satellite on October 16, 2018. In this analysis we compare the free-fall accelerations (a A and a B) of two test masses in terms of the Eötvös parameter $\eta (\text{A,B})=2\frac{{a}_…
MICROSCOPE. mission analysis, requirements and expected performance
Bergé, Joel; Chhun, Ratana; Métris, Gilles +16 more
The MICROSCOPE mission aimed to test the weak equivalence principle (WEP) to a precision of 10-15. The WEP states that two bodies fall at the same rate on a gravitational field independently of their mass or composition. In MICROSCOPE, two masses of different compositions (titanium and platinum alloys) are placed on a quasi-circular tra…
MICROSCOPE's constraint on a short-range fifth force
Bergé, Joel; Pernot-Borràs, Martin; Uzan, Jean-Philippe +5 more
The MICROSCOPE experiment was designed to test the weak equivalence principle in space, by comparing the low-frequency dynamics of cylindrical 'free-falling' test masses controlled by electrostatic forces. We use data taken during technical sessions aimed at estimating the electrostatic stiffness of MICROSCOPE's sensors to constrain a short-range …
MICROSCOPE satellite and its drag-free and attitude control system
Bergé, Joel; Chhun, Ratana; Métris, Gilles +14 more
This paper focuses on the description of the design and performance of the MICROSCOPE satellite and its drag-free and attitude control system. The satellite is derived from CNES' Myriade platform family, albeit with significant upgrades dictated by the unprecedented MICROSCOPE's mission requirements. The 300 kg drag-free microsatellite has complet…
MICROSCOPE mission: data analysis principle
Bergé, Joel; Chhun, Ratana; Métris, Gilles +10 more
After performing highly sensitive acceleration measurements during two years of drag-free flight around the Earth, MICROSCOPE provided the best constraint on the weak equivalence principle (WEP) to date. Beside being a technological challenge, this experiment required a specialised data analysis pipeline to look for a potential small signal buried…
Microscope instrument in-flight characterization
Bergé, Joel; Chhun, Ratana; Métris, Gilles +12 more
Since the MICROSCOPE instrument aims to measure accelerations as low as a few 10-15 m s-2 and cannot operate on ground, it was necessary to have a large time dedicated to its characterization in flight. After its release and first operation, the characterization experiments covered all the aspects of the instrument design in …
MICROSCOPE instrument description and validation
Bergé, Joel; Chhun, Ratana; Métris, Gilles +19 more
This paper focuses on the dedicated accelerometers developed for the MICROSCOPE mission taking into account the specific range of acceleration to be measured on board the satellite. Considering one micro-g and even less as the full range of the instrument with an objective of one femto-g resolution, that leads to a customized concept and a high-pe…