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Test of the Universality of Free Fall with Atoms in Different Spin Orientations

Xiao-Chun Duan, Xiao-Bing Deng, Min-Kang Zhou, Ke Zhang, Wen-Jie Xu, Feng Xiong, Yao-Yao Xu, Cheng-Gang Shao, Jun Luo, and Zhong-Kun Hu
Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 023001 – Published 6 July 2016
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Abstract

We report a test of the universality of free fall by comparing the gravity acceleration of the Rb87 atoms in mF=+1 versus those in mF=1, of which the corresponding spin orientations are opposite. A Mach-Zehnder-type atom interferometer is exploited to alternately measure the free fall acceleration of the atoms in these two magnetic sublevels, and the resultant Eötvös ratio is ηS=(0.2±1.2)×107. This also gives an upper limit of 5.4×106m2 for a possible gradient field of the spacetime torsion. The interferometer using atoms in mF=±1 is highly sensitive to the magnetic field inhomogeneity. A double differential measurement method is developed to alleviate the inhomogeneity influence, of which the effectiveness is validated by a magnetic field modulating experiment.

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  • Received 26 January 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.023001

© 2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Atomic, Molecular & Optical

Synopsis

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Skydiving Spins

Published 6 July 2016

Atom interferometry shows that the free-fall acceleration of rubidium atoms of opposite spin orientation is the same to within 1 part in 10 million.

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Authors & Affiliations

Xiao-Chun Duan1, Xiao-Bing Deng1, Min-Kang Zhou1, Ke Zhang1, Wen-Jie Xu1, Feng Xiong1, Yao-Yao Xu1, Cheng-Gang Shao1, Jun Luo1,2, and Zhong-Kun Hu1,*

  • 1MOE Key Laboratory of Fundamental Physical Quantities Measurements, School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, People’s Republic of China
  • 2Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People’s Republic of China

  • *zkhu@mail.hust.edu.cn

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Issue

Vol. 117, Iss. 2 — 8 July 2016

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