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Charge-Induced Force Noise on Free-Falling Test Masses: Results from LISA Pathfinder
Mendes, L.; Madden, S.; Russano, G. +93 more
We report on electrostatic measurements made on board the European Space Agency mission LISA Pathfinder. Detailed measurements of the charge-induced electrostatic forces exerted on free-falling test masses (TMs) inside the capacitive gravitational reference sensor are the first made in a relevant environment for a space-based gravitational wave de…
LISA pathfinder appreciably constrains collapse models
Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Helou, Bassam; McClelland, David E. +1 more
Spontaneous collapse models are phenomological theories formulated to address major difficulties in macroscopic quantum mechanics. We place significant bounds on the parameters of the leading collapse models, the continuous spontaneous localization (CSL) model, and the Diosi-Penrose (DP) model, by using LISA Pathfinder's measurement, at a record a…
Capacitive sensing of test mass motion with nanometer precision over millimeter-wide sensing gaps for space-borne gravitational reference sensors
Mendes, L.; Madden, S.; Russano, G. +100 more
We report on the performance of the capacitive gap-sensing system of the Gravitational Reference Sensor on board the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft. From in-flight measurements, the system has demonstrated a performance, down to 1 mHz, that is ranging between 0.7 and 1.8 aF Hz-1 /2 . That translates into a sensing noise of the test mass mot…
On-ground testing of the role of adhesion in the LISA-Pathfinder test mass injection phase
Bortoluzzi, D.; Zanoni, C.; Conklin, J. W.
Many space missions share the need to fly a free-falling body inside the spacecraft, as a reference for navigation and/or as a probe for the local gravitational field. When a mechanism is required to cage such an object during the launch phase, the need arises to release it to free-fall once the operational phase must be initiated in orbit. The cr…
LISA Pathfinder first results
Vetrugno, D.
LISA Pathfinder (LPF) is an in-flight technological demonstrator designed and launched to prove the feasibility of sub-femto-g free fall of kilo-sized test masses (TM), an essential ingredient for the future gravitational wave observatory from space. Half a year after launch, the first results are available and show an incredibly well-performing i…