931 research outputs found
Development of a high sensitivity torsional balance for the study of the Casimir force in the 1-10 micrometer range
We discuss a proposal to measure the Casimir force in the parallel plate
configuration in the m range via a high-sensitivity torsional balance.
This will allow to measure the thermal contribution to the Casimir force
therefore discriminating between the various approaches discussed so far. The
accurate control of the Casimir force in this range of distances is also
required to improve the limits to the existence of non-Newtonian forces in the
micrometer range predicted by unification models of fundamental interactions.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Quantum ballistic experiment on antihydrogen fall
We study an interferometric approach to measure gravitational mass of
antihydrogen. The method consists of preparing a coherent superposition of
antihydrogen quantum state localized near a material surface in the
gravitational field of the Earth, and then observing the time distribution of
annihilation events followed after the free fall of an initially prepared
superposition from a given height to the detector plate. We show that a
corresponding time distribution is related to the momentum distribution in the
initial state that allows its precise measurement. This approach is combined
with a method of production of a coherent superposition of gravitational states
by inducing a resonant transition using oscillating gradient magnetic field. We
estimate an accuracy of measuring the gravitational mass of antihydrogen atom
which could be deduced from such a measurement.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1403.478
Quantum reflection of antihydrogen from nanoporous media
We study quantum reflection of antihydrogen atoms from nanoporous media due
to the Casimir-Polder (CP) potential. Using a simple effective medium model, we
show a dramatic increase of the probability of quantum reflection of
antihydrogen atoms if the porosity of the medium increases. We discuss the
limiting case of reflections at small energies, which have interesting
applications for trapping and guiding antihydrogen using material walls
Quantum limits in interferometric measurements
Quantum noise limits the sensitivity of interferometric measurements. It is
generally admitted that it leads to an ultimate sensitivity, the ``standard
quantum limit''. Using a semi-classical analysis of quantum noise, we show that
a judicious use of squeezed states allows one in principle to push the
sensitivity beyond this limit. This general method could be applied to large
scale interferometers designed for gravitational wave detection.Comment: 4 page
Temperature dependence of the probability of "small heating" and total losses of ucns on the surface of fomblin oils of different molecular mass
We measured the temperature dependence of the probability of small heating
and total losses of UCNs on the PFPE Fomblin Y surface with various molecular
masses Mw=2800, 3300, 6500 amu in the temperature range of 100-300 K. The
probability of small heating sharply decreases with increasing Mw and
decreasing temperature. The probability of total loss weakly decreases with
decreasing temperature and takes the minimum value at Mw=3300 amu. As this oil
provides a homogeneous surface with minimal probabilities of small heating and
total losses of UCNs, it is the preferred candidate for experiments on
measuring the neutron lifetime
Quantum reflection of antihydrogen from Casimir potential above matter slabs
We study quantum reflection of antihydrogen atoms from matter slabs due to
the van der Waals/Casimir-Polder (vdW/CP) potential. By taking into account the
specificities of antihydrogen and the optical properties and width of the slabs
we calculate realistic estimates for the potential and quantum reflection
amplitudes. Next we discuss the paradoxical result of larger reflection
coefficients estimated for weaker potentials in terms of the Schwarzian
derivative. We analyze the limiting case of reflections at small energies,
which are characterized by a scattering length and have interesting
applications for trapping and guiding antihydrogen using material walls
Whispering Gallery States of Antihydrogen
We study theoretically interference of the long-living quasistationary
quantum states of antihydrogen atoms, localized near a concave material
surface. Such states are an antimatter analog of the whispering gallery states
of neutrons and matter atoms, and similar to the whispering gallery modes of
sound and electro-magnetic waves. Quantum states of antihydrogen are formed by
the combined effect of quantum reflection from van der Waals/Casimir-Polder
(vdW/CP) potential of the surface and the centrifugal potential. We point out a
method for precision studies of quantum reflection of antiatoms from vdW/CP
potential; this method uses interference of the whispering gallery states of
antihydrogen.Comment: 13 pages 7 figure
Testing Gravitation in the Solar System with Radio Science experiments
The laws of gravitation have been tested for a long time with steadily
improving precision, leading at some moment of time to paradigmatic evolutions.
Pursuing this continual effort is of great importance for science. In this
communication, we focus on Solar System tests of gravity and more precisely on
possible tests that can be performed with radio science observations (Range and
Doppler). After briefly reviewing the current tests of gravitation at Solar
System scales, we give motivations to continue such experiments. In order to
obtain signature and estimate the amplitude of anomalous signals that could
show up in radio science observables because of modified gravitational laws, we
developed a new software that simulates Range/Doppler signals. We present this
new tool that simulates radio science observables directly from the space-time
metric. We apply this tool to the Cassini mission during its cruise from
Jupiter to Saturn and derive constraints on the parameters entering alternative
theories of gravity beyond the standard Parametrized Post Newtonian theory.Comment: proceedings of SF2A 2011 - minor changes (typos corrected -
references updated
Quantum reflection of antihydrogen from a liquid helium film
We study the quantum reflection of ultracold antihydrogen atoms bouncing on
the surface of a liquid helium film. The Casimir-Polder potential and quantum
reflection are calculated for different thicknesses of the film supported by
different substrates. Antihydrogen can be protected from anni- hilation for as
long as 1.3s on a bulk of liquid 4He, and 1.7s for liquid 3He. These large
lifetimes open interesting perspectives for spectroscopic measurements of the
free fall acceleration of antihydrogen. Variation of the scattering length with
the thickness of a film of helium shows interferences which we interpret
through a Liouville transformation of the quantum reflection problem
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