Scientists are about to test Einstein’s gravity with exotic matter
Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute are developing an experiment to test if the muon, a heavy relative of the electron, interacts with gravity in the same way as ordinary matter. This study aims to verify the universality of free fall and explore why nature contains multiple generations of particles.
Why it matters
Testing the equivalence principle with exotic matter could reveal flaws in the Standard Model of physics and provide deeper insights into the fundamental nature of gravity.
Does gravity affect every type of particle in exactly the same way? Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen are preparing an experiment that could test that fundamental assumption using one of nature's more unusual particles.
"We have taken an important step towards carrying out an exciting experiment on this topic," says the professor of physics: "We want to measure the gravitational interaction of the muon."
The familiar matter that makes up people, planets, and nearly everything around us consists of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Physicists classify these particles as belonging to the first generation of matter. Two additional generations also exist, made up of heavier particles. One of them is the muon, a heavier relative of the electron that belongs to the second generation.
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