A space-based optical Kennedy-Thorndike experiment testing special relativity

摘要

We propose a small satellite mission that aims for testing the foundations of special relativity by performing a Kennedy-Thorndike (KT) experiment. A potential boost dependence of the velocity of light is measured by comparing a length reference (i.e. a highly stable optical resonator) with a molecular frequency reference. By employing clocks with 10⁻¹⁶ frequency stability at half orbit time (45 min) and by integration over 5000 orbits (2 years mission lifetime with 50% duty cycle) a 1600-fold improvement in measuring the Kennedy-Thorndike coefficient is targeted, compared to the current best terrestrial test.