Abstract
The lunar-ranging test of the equivalence principle for gravitational self-energy is ambiguous. Although the Earth has more gravitational self-energy than the Moon, its sizable Fe/Ni core also gives it a different composition than the Moon. We removed this ambiguity by comparing, in effect, the accelerations of “miniature” earths and moons toward the Sun. Our composition-dependent Earth-Moon acceleration, , and lunar-ranging data provide an unambiguous test at the level.
- Received 12 July 1999
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.3585
©1999 American Physical Society