Nordtvedt effect

In theoretical astrophysics, the Nordtvedt effect refers to the relative motion between the Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

 and the Moon

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

 which would be observed if the gravitational self-energy

Self-energy

In theoretical physics and quantum field theory a particle's self-energy \Sigma represents the contribution to the particle's energy, or effective mass, due to interactions between the particle and the system it is part of...

 of a body contributed to its gravitational mass but not its inertial mass. If observed, the Nordtvedt effect would violate the strong equivalence principle, which shows that an object's movement in a gravitational field does not depend on its mass or composition.

The effect is named after Dr. Kenneth L. Nordtvedt, from Montana State University, who first demonstrated that some theories of gravity suggest that massive bodies should fall at different rates, depending upon their gravitational self-energy.

If gravity does in fact violate the strong equivalence principle, then the more-massive Earth should fall towards the Sun at a slightly different rate than the Moon. To test for the existence (or absence) of the Nordtvedt effect, scientists have used the Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment

Lunar laser ranging experiment

The ongoing Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment measures the distance between the Earth and the Moon using laser ranging. Lasers on Earth are aimed at retroreflectors planted on the moon during the Apollo program, and the time for the reflected light to return is determined...

, which is capable of measuring the distance between the Earth and the Moon with near-millimetre accuracy. Thus far, the results have failed to find any evidence of the Nordtvedt effect, demonstrating that if it exists, the effect is exceedingly weak.