Scheme of G measurement with large amplitude torsion pendulum

Abstract

In the recent CODATA-2014 adjustment, the $G$ values obtained by different groups are not in good agreement with each other within respective uncertainties, which may be attributed to the possible unknown or incorrectly evaluated systematic errors in different methods. This paper proposes a scheme to measure $G$ with two independent methods. The first method is the extraction of the $G$ value from the fundamental periods of the torsion pendulum, with the source masses at two positions; the other one determines the $G$ value on the basis of the amplitude of the third-order harmonic component of the torsion pendulum. Both methods are performed with the same setup by using the large-amplitude torsion pendulum. Through theoretical derivation and simulation, the uncertainties of the $G$ values obtained by the two methods are both expected to be within 20 ppm. By comparing the $G$ values from the two methods, we can explore the potential systematic errors in the measurement.