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