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    Sensitivity analysis of gravitational redshift tests using atomic-clock phase measurements onboard the China Space Station

    Xiao-Yi Dai1, Cheng-Gang Qin1,*, Qi-Long Gong1, Zhi-Yu Ma2, Yu-Jie Tan2, and Cheng-Gang Shao2

    • 1MOE Key Laboratory of TianQin Mission, TianQin Research Center for Gravitational Physics and School of Physics and Astronomy, Frontiers Science Center for TianQin, CNSA Research Center for Gravitational Waves, Sun Yat-sen University (Zhuhai Campus), Zhuhai 519082, People’s Republic of China
    • 2MOE Key Laboratory of Fundamental Physical Quantities Measurement and Hubei Key Laboratory of Gravitation and Quantum Physics, PGMF and School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, People’s Republic of China

    • *Contact author: qinchg3@sysu.edu.cn

    Phys. Rev. D 114, 064073 – Published 22 September, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/qk9j-42hx

    Abstract

    The test of gravitational redshift (GRS) is one of the important experiments used to verify the Einstein equivalence principle (EEP) in general relativity (GR). The China Space Station (CSS) is equipped with a high-precision Sr atomic clock for future GR tests. We simulate an experiment to test GRS by comparing phase signals from the CSS and the Beijing Miyun ground station. We simulate the signal transmission via laser link combinations, obtain the gravitational redshift from the EGM2008 model, and apply a least-squares estimator to three days of simulated data. Under conservative error assumptions, we obtain a constraint on the GRS violation parameter of α=(0.14±4.65)×10−7. The geopotential model error and the accumulated clock phase noise are identified as the dominant error source, and it has been demonstrated that testing with phase signals is not affected by signal discontinuities.

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