Impact of Atmospheric Delay on Equivalence Principle Tests Using Lunar Laser Ranging

Jiang, Ze-Tian; Qin, Cheng-Gang; Huang, Wei-Sheng; Ke, Jun; Tan, Yu-Jie; Shao, Cheng-Gang

doi:10.3390/sym18010050

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Impact of Atmospheric Delay on Equivalence Principle Tests Using Lunar Laser Ranging

by

Ze-Tian Jiang

¹,

Cheng-Gang Qin

^2,*

,

Wei-Sheng Huang

¹,

Jun Ke

¹,

Yu-Jie Tan

^1,*

and

Cheng-Gang Shao

^1,*

¹

National Gravitation Laboratory, MOE Key Laboratory of Fundamental Physical Quantities Measurement, School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

²

MOE Key Laboratory of TianQin Mission, TianQin Research Center for Gravitational Physics & School of Physics and Astronomy, Frontiers Science Center for TianQin, CNSA Research Center for Gravitational Waves, Sun Yat-sen University (Zhuhai Campus), Zhuhai 519082, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Symmetry 2026, 18(1), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18010050 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 25 November 2025 / Revised: 22 December 2025 / Accepted: 25 December 2025 / Published: 26 December 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Physics)

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Abstract

Lunar laser ranging (LLR) has currently achieved millimeter-level ranging accuracy, establishing itself as a powerful tool for testing general relativity, particularly the equivalence principle. However, atmospheric delay introduces spurious signals in LLR-based equivalence principle tests, significantly degrading parameter constraint precision. Through analysis of observational data from the Grasse station—which has contributed the most normal point data in recent years—we demonstrate that atmospheric delay may significantly affect the test of equivalence principle. Moreover, this paper provides a comprehensive analysis of how temporal and elevation-angle non-uniformity in atmospheric delay distribution affect equivalence principle tests. Simulation results demonstrate that fixing the elevation angle significantly enhances the precision of equivalence principle tests. Therefore, to achieve more stringent constraints, it is recommended to analyze segments from the long-term ranging archive that have minimal variation in elevation angle.

Keywords: lunar laser ranging; equivalence principle; atmospheric delay; general relativity

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MDPI and ACS Style

Jiang, Z.-T.; Qin, C.-G.; Huang, W.-S.; Ke, J.; Tan, Y.-J.; Shao, C.-G. Impact of Atmospheric Delay on Equivalence Principle Tests Using Lunar Laser Ranging. Symmetry 2026, 18, 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18010050

AMA Style

Jiang Z-T, Qin C-G, Huang W-S, Ke J, Tan Y-J, Shao C-G. Impact of Atmospheric Delay on Equivalence Principle Tests Using Lunar Laser Ranging. Symmetry. 2026; 18(1):50. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18010050

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jiang, Ze-Tian, Cheng-Gang Qin, Wei-Sheng Huang, Jun Ke, Yu-Jie Tan, and Cheng-Gang Shao. 2026. "Impact of Atmospheric Delay on Equivalence Principle Tests Using Lunar Laser Ranging" Symmetry 18, no. 1: 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18010050

APA Style

Jiang, Z.-T., Qin, C.-G., Huang, W.-S., Ke, J., Tan, Y.-J., & Shao, C.-G. (2026). Impact of Atmospheric Delay on Equivalence Principle Tests Using Lunar Laser Ranging. Symmetry, 18(1), 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18010050

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Impact of Atmospheric Delay on Equivalence Principle Tests Using Lunar Laser Ranging

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