Seminarium ZF i ZOA: ACES - The Clocks Above and Beyond

The Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES), launched on April 21st from ESA's Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, will bring a new generation of ultra-precise atomic clocks to the microgravity environment of the International Space Station (ISS). Using an advanced microwave link, ACES will enable direct time comparisons with a global network of ground-based clocks. At the core of its scientific objectives, ACES will test Einstein’s theory of General Relativity through an absolute measurement of gravitational redshift. Additionally, it will search for temporal variations of fundamental constants, probe for local dark matter structures near Earth, and explore extensions of the Standard Model. This talk will provide an overview of the instrument, its primary scientific goals, and the fundamental physics tests it will conduct.

Michele Armano is a senior scientist at the European Space Agency (ESA) with a Ph.D. in physics and a background in quantum field theory and general relativity. He specializes in gravitational physics and precision measurement in space, with past key roles in ACES (Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space) and LISA Pathfinder as an expert in instrumentation and data analysis. He now serves in the Scientific Performance Team of the LISA project. Armano teaches aerospace engineering at Universidad Europea in Madrid and is a visiting professor at AGH’s Space Technology Center & Faculty in Krakow, where he teaches orbital mechanics and general relativity in the newly-established Master's Program.