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Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto
Was Einstein right? Testing GR and the Equivalence Principle, 100 years on

Carlos J. A. P. Martins
IA

Abstract
General Relativity is celebrating its centenary---although its conceptual cornerstone, the Einstein Equivalence Principle, is slightly older. Even though so far both have passed a plethora of experimental tests, there are reasons to expect that they may break down in certain extreme conditions. Astrophysical observations are playing an increasingly important role in these tests, and in this talk I'll provide an overview of the current status, mainly focusing on tests based on precision spectroscopy. In particular I will present new constraints on Weak Equivalence Principle violations that (despite being indirect and somewhat model-dependent) are more than one order of magnitude stronger than existing direct constraints from torsion balance and lunar laser ranging experiments. I will also outline the role of ALMA, ESPRESSO, Euclid and the E-ELT in further improving these tests (and enabling entirely new ones).

15 July 2015, 13:30

Centro de Astrofísica
Rua das Estrelas
4150-762 Porto

Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences

Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (IA) is a new but long anticipated research infrastructure with a national dimension. It embodies a bold but feasible vision for the development of Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Sciences in Portugal, taking full advantage and fully realizing the potential created by the national membership of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). IA resulted from the merging the two most prominent research units in the field in Portugal: the Centre for Astrophysics of the University of Porto (CAUP) and the Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics of the University of Lisbon (CAAUL). It currently hosts more than two-thirds of all active researchers working in Space Sciences in Portugal, and is responsible for an even greater fraction of the national productivity in international ISI journals in the area of Space Sciences. This is the scientific area with the highest relative impact factor (1.65 times above the international average) and the field with the highest average number of citations per article for Portugal.

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