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Testing gravity with cold-atom interferometers

G. W. Biedermann, X. Wu, L. Deslauriers, S. Roy, C. Mahadeswaraswamy, and M. A. Kasevich
Phys. Rev. A 91, 033629 – Published 24 March 2015

Abstract

We present a horizontal gravity gradiometer atom interferometer for precision gravitational tests. The horizontal configuration is superior for maximizing the inertial signal in the atom interferometer from a nearby proof mass. In our device, we have suppressed spurious noise associated with the horizonal configuration to achieve a differential acceleration sensitivity of 4.2×109g/Hz over a 70-cm baseline or 3.0×109g/Hz inferred per accelerometer. Using the performance of this instrument, we characterize the results of possible future gravitational tests. We demonstrate a statistical uncertainty of 3×104 for a proof-of-concept measurement of the gravitational constant that is competitive with the present limit of 1.2×104 using other techniques. From this measurement, we provide a statistical constraint on a Yukawa-type fifth force at 8×103 near the poorly known length scale of 10 cm. Limits approaching 105 appear feasible. We discuss improvements that can enable uncertainties falling well below 105 for both experiments.

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  • Received 1 December 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.91.033629

©2015 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

G. W. Biedermann*, X. Wu, L. Deslauriers, S. Roy, C. Mahadeswaraswamy, and M. A. Kasevich

  • Physics Department, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA

  • *Present address: Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87123, USA.
  • kasevich@stanford.edu

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Vol. 91, Iss. 3 — March 2015

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