Atom interferometry measurement of the atom-surface van der Waals interaction |
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Authors: | S Lepoutre V P A Lonij H Jelassi G Trénec M Büchner A D Cronin J Vigué |
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Institution: | 1.Laboratoire Collisions Agrégats Réactivité IRSAMC,Université de Toulouse-UPS and CNRS UMR 5589,Toulouse Cedex 9,France;2.Department of Physics,University of Arizona,Tucson,USA;3.Centre National des Sciences et Technologies Nucléaires,CNSTN, P?le Technologique,Sidi Thabet,Tunisia |
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Abstract: | Using a nano-scale grid as a phase-shifting component, an atom interferometer has been
utilized to study atom-surface van der Waals (VdW) interactions. We report phase shifts on
the order of 0.2 rad, with a few percent uncertainty. We also report the
velocity-dependent attenuation of atomic de Broglie wave amplitude that occurs in
conjunction with the observed phase shifts. From these data we deduce the strength of the
VdW potential and its dependence on the atom-surface separation. We discuss how our
measurements can be used to set limits on the strength of non-Newtonian gravity at short
length scales and we discuss the possibility of measuring the atom-surface interactions
over a larger range of atom-surface distances. We also compare our results to several
theoretical predictions for the VdW potential of Li near a variety of surfaces. |
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