As background:
Does the universe have a rest frame?
From the second article: "This is designed to test the special theory of relativity that assumes the absence of a rest frame, otherwise it would be possible to determine which inertial frame is stationary and which frame is moving. This assumption, however, appears to diverge from the standard model of cosmology, which assumes that what we see as a vacuum is not an empty space. The assumption is that the energy of our universe comes from the quantum fluctuation in the vacuum."
I was under the impression that the 1887 Michelson-Morley experiment (and presumably many performed since) discounted a universal rest frame--prior to this time, called the "aether."
After reading about this "new" experiment being proposed by Donald Chang from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, I was surprised because I thought physicists already considered this "settled" science, i.e. that there is no rest frame. Per Special Relativity, only inertial rest frames between objects matter. However, it seems the Standard Model disagrees with SR in that it envisions quantum fluctuation energy in the rest frame vacuum.
So my questions are: Is anyone aware of an experiment like this that has already been performed? (I am just surprised that this seems like a "new" experiment) Isn't this already a settled matter in physics, or is it not yet settled?