MG11 
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Abstract

Are active and passive electric charges equal?

We explore the consequences of a hypothetical difference between active charges, which generate electric fields, and passive charges, which respond to them. A confrontation to experiments using atoms, molecules, or macroscopic matter yields limits on their fractional difference at levels down to $10^{-21}$.

The Flyby-Anomaly

The flyby anomaly is an unexplained increase of the velocity of spacecraft during Earth flybys. This has been observed for Galileo, NEAR, Cassini, and Rosetta. We report on the observations. An error estimate shows that this effect cannot be explained by interaction with the atmosphere, by errors of the earth gravity model, by ocean and solid Earth tides, etc. Though being an open problem, we comment on attempted theoretical explanations.

OPTIS - satellite test of Lorentz invarance: progress report

The OPTIS mission is a satellite equipped with a variety of clocks and laser ranging and tracking facilities for performing improved tests of the foundations as well as predictions of Special and General Relativity. This mission makes advantage of the space conditions of large differences in the velocity and the gravitational potential. Here we report on recent progress made in the studies of the behaviour of the resonator in a tidal gravitational field.