BOOST: A satellite mission to test Lorentz invariance using high-performance optical frequency references

BOOST (BOOst Symmetry Test) is a proposed satellite mission to search for violations of Lorentz invariance by comparing two optical frequency references. One is based on a long-term stable optical resonator, and the other is based on a hyperfine transition in molecular iodine. This mission will allow us to determine several parameters of the standard model extension in the electron sector up to 2 orders of magnitude better than with the current best experiments. Here, we will give an overview of the mission, the science case, and the payload.

Figure 1

Schematic overview of the measurement principle. An optical resonator and an iodine spectroscopy unit are employed to stabilize their respective lasers developed by the FBH. The resulting stabilized frequencies are then compared in the beat measurement. The time variation of the beat signal yields the science signal. (*cf. Ref. [22].)

Figure 2

Schematic overview of the payload. The beat unit as well as the data management unit are internally redundant.