Significance of Composition-Dependent Effects in Fifth-Force Searches

Abstract

Indications of a possible composition-dependent fifth force, based on a reanalysis of the Eötvös experiment, have not been supported by a number of modern experiments. Here, we argue that searching for a composition-dependent fifth force necessarily requires data from experiments in which the acceleration differences of three or more independent pairs of test samples of varying composition are determined. We suggest that a new round of fifth-force experiments is called for, in each of which three or more different pairs of samples are compared.

Comments: 7 pages, 3 figures, minor changes and corrections to match published version