State special primary acceleration measurement standard for gravimetry GET 190-2019

The State special primary acceleration measurement standard for gravimetry (GET 190-2019), its composition, principle of operation and basic metrological characteristics are presented. This standard is on the upper level of reference for free-fall acceleration measurements. Its accuracy and reliability were improved as a result of optimisation of the adjustment procedures for measurement systems and its integration within the upgraded systems, units and modern hardware components. A special attention was given to adjusting the corrections applied to measurement results with respect to procedural, physical and technical limitations. The used investigation methods made it possibled to confirm the measurement range of GET 190-2019 and to determine the contributions of main sources of errors and the total value of these errors. The measurement characteristics and GET 90-2019 were confirmed by the results obtained from measurements of the absolute value of the free fall acceleration at the gravimetrical site “Lomonosov-1” and by their collation with the data of different dates obtained from measurements by high-precision foreign and domestic gravimeters. Topicality of such measurements ensues from the requirements to handle the applied problems that need data on parameters of the Earth gravitational field, to be adequately faced. Geophysics and navigation are the main fields of application for high-precision measurements in this field.

Quantum Vacuum Energy and the Emergence of Gravity An Essay

Building on the work of others a novel idea is put forward regarding the possible mechanism of gravity as involving energy coupling down the energy gradient of a massive body. Free fall (acceleration) in a gravitational field is explained as arising from an interaction of the modified quantum vacuum energy in the vicinity of matter.

The GBAR experiment

The classical Weak Equivalence Principle has not yet been tested using antimatter in matter gravitational fields. The GBAR (Gravitational Behaviour of Antihydrogen at Rest) experiment, recently approved by CERN, proposes to measure the free-fall acceleration of antihydrogen. In this experiment, positive antihydrogen ions will be produced, and subsequently cooled down using laser cooled Be + ions. Then, when a temperature of around 20 μK has been reached, the excess positron will be detached and the free-fall time will be measured using the antiproton annihilation products. An overview of the experiment will be given together with its present status.