Abstract: The experimental tests of general relativity, notably binary pulsar ones, are reviewed, and their theoretical significance is discussed. Experiment and theory agree at the 10−3 level. All the basic structures of Einstein’s theory (coupling of gravity to matter; propagation and self-interaction of the gravitational field, including in strong-field conditions) have been verified. However, some recent theoretical findings (cosmological relaxation toward zero scalar couplings) suggest that the present agreement between general relativity and experiment might be naturally compatible with the existence of a long-range scalar contribution to gravity (such as the dilaton, or a moduli field of string theory). This provides a new theoretical paradigm, and new motivations for improving the experimental tests of gravity. Ultra-high precision tests of the equivalence principle appear as the most sensitive way to look for possible long-range deviations from general relativity: they might open a low-energy window on string-scale physics.1
Publication Year: 1996
Publication Date: 1996-11-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 12
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