毫米级精度APOLLO测量的绝对校准系统
An absolute calibration system for millimeter-accuracy APOLLO measurements
摘要：
月球激光测距提供了许多领先的引力实验测试--这对我们寻求统一物理学的广义相对论和标准模型很重要。阿帕奇点天文台的月球激光测距操作（APOLLO）多年来一直达到约2毫米水平的中位测距精度。然而，模型测量比较中的残差要大一个数量级，这就提出了一个问题，即测距数据是否不像精确数据那样精确，或者模型是否不完整或病态。本文介绍了一种新的绝对校准系统（ACS），它既可作为暴露和消除系统误差的工具，又可作为直接现场校准测距数据的手段。该系统由一个高重复率（80 MHz）激光器发射短（< 10 ps）脉冲，锁定到铯时钟。从本质上讲，ACS以精确定义的时间间隔向APOLLO探测器提供光子，作为“真实”输入，据此可以判断和校正APOLLO的计时性能。初步分析表明，APOLLO数据没有超过3毫米水平的不准确性，这表明历史APOLLO数据是高质量的，并激励继续对模型能力的工作。ACS提供了在2毫米水平以下准确和精确地提供APOLLO数据的手段。
英文摘要：
Lunar laser ranging provides a number of leading experimental tests of gravitation -- important in our quest to unify General Relativity and the Standard Model of physics. The Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation (APOLLO) has for years achieved median range precision at the ~2 mm level. Yet residuals in model-measurement comparisons are an order-of-magnitude larger, raising the question of whether the ranging data are not nearly as accurate as they are precise, or if the models are incomplete or ill-conditioned. This paper describes a new absolute calibration system (ACS) intended both as a tool for exposing and eliminating sources of systematic error, and also as a means to directly calibrate ranging data in-situ. The system consists of a high-repetition-rate (80 MHz) laser emitting short (< 10 ps) pulses that are locked to a cesium clock. In essence, the ACS delivers photons to the APOLLO detector at exquisitely well-defined time intervals as a "truth" input against which APOLLO's timing performance may be judged and corrected. Preliminary analysis indicates no inaccuracies in APOLLO data beyond the ~3 mm level, suggesting that historical APOLLO data are of high quality and motivating continued work on model capabilities. The ACS provides the means to deliver APOLLO data both accurate and precise below the 2 mm level.
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