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arXiv:2310.14717 · Physical Review Letters

Quectonewton Local Force Sensor

Yann Balland, Luc Absil, Franck Pereira dos Santos

Published Sep 13, 2024• 12 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We report on the realization of a quantum sensor based on trapped atom interferometry in an optical lattice for the measurement of atom-surface interactions, with sub-micrometer-level control of the mean atom-surface separation distance. The force sensor reaches a short-term sensitivity of 3.4×10^{-28} N at 1 s and a long-term stability of 4 qN (4×10^{-30} N). We perform force measurements in the 0-300 μm range, and despite significant stray forces caused by adsorbed atoms on the surface, we obtain evidence of the Casimir-Polder force.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.133.113403

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We report on the realization of a quantum sensor based on trapped atom interferometry in an optical lattice for the measurement of atom-surface interactions, with sub-micrometer-level control of the mean atom-surface separation distance. The force sensor reaches a short-term sensitivity of 3.4×10^{-28} N at 1 s and a long-term stability of 4 qN (4×10^{-30} N). We perform force measurements in the 0-300 μm range, and despite significant stray forces caused by adsorbed atoms on the surface, we obtain evidence of the Casimir-Polder force.
We report the realization of a quantum device for force sensing at the micrometric scale. We trap an ultracold 88Sr^{88}\mathrm{Sr}88Sr atomic cloud with a one-dimensional (1D) optical lattice; then we place the atomic sample close to a test surface using the same optical lattice as an elevator. We demonstrate precise positioning of the sample at the micrometer scale. By observing the Bloch oscillations of atoms into the 1D optical standing wave, we are able to measure the total force on the atoms along the lattice axis, with a spatial resolution of few micrometers. We also demonstrate a technique for transverse displacement of the atoms, allowing us to perform measurements near either transparent or reflective test surfaces. In order to reduce the minimum distance from the surface, we compress the longitudinal size of the atomic sample by means of an optical tweezer. This system is suited for studies of atom-surface interaction at short distance, such as measurement of the Casimir force and the search for possible non-Newtonian gravity effects.
We use a quantum sensor based on trapped atom interferometry, and designed for probing short range atom-surface interactions, to characterize parasitic electric fields produced by adsorbed atoms or surface charges on a dielectric mirror. Applying controlled external fields with in-situ electrodes allows measuring electric field gradients with a relative uncertainty of order of 1% via variations of the force induced onto the atoms. More, our sensor can also be configured as a trapped microwave clock, allowing for direct measurements of the electric field amplitude via the Stark shift of the hyperfine transition frequency. Such measurements of the electric field amplitudes and gradients as a function of the atom-surface distance can be used to construct a model for the spatial distribution of the atoms adsorbed onto the surface of the mirror, and to accurately correct local force measurements, such as related to the Casimir–Polder interaction, from the detrimental impact of adsorbed atoms or stray charges.
We describe an experiment based on atoms trapped close to a macroscopic surface, to study the interactions between the atoms and the surface at very small separations $(0.6--10\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m})$. In this range the dominant potential is the QED interaction (Casimir-Polder and van der Waals) between the surface and the atom. Additionally, several theoretical models suggest the possibility of Yukawa-type potentials with sub-millimeter range, arising from new physics related to gravity. The proposed setup is very similar to neutral atom optical lattice clocks, but with the atoms trapped in lattice sites close to the reflecting mirror. A sequence of pulses of the probe laser at different frequencies is then used to create an interferometer with a coherent superposition between atomic states at different distances from the mirror (in different lattice sites). Assuming atom interferometry state-of-the-art measurement of the phase difference and a duration of the superposition of about 0.1s0.1\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{s}0.1s, we expect to be able to measure the potential difference between separated states with an uncertainty of $\ensuremath{\approx}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{Hz}$. An analysis of systematic effects for different atoms and surfaces indicates no fundamentally limiting effect at the same level of uncertainty, but does influence the choice of atom and surface material. Based on those estimates, we expect that such an experiment would improve the best existing measurements of the atom-wall QED interaction by \ensuremath{\geqslant} 2 orders of magnitude, while gaining up to four orders of magnitude on the best present limits on new interactions in the range between 100nm100\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{nm}100nm and $100\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$.
The authors propose a novel experiment based on atoms trapped close to a macroscopic surface, to study the interactions between the atoms and the surface at very small separations (0.6 to 10 mum). In this range the dominant potential is the QED interaction (Casimir-Polder and Van der Waals) between the surface and the atom. Additionally, several theoretical models suggest the possibility of Yukawa type potentials with sub-mm range, arising from new physics related to gravity. The paper proposes a set-up very similar to neutral atom optical lattice clocks, but with the atoms trapped in lattice sites close to the reflecting mirror. A sequence of pulses of the probe laser at different frequencies is then used to create an interferometer with a coherent superposition between atomic states at different distances from the mirror (in different lattice sites). Assuming atom interferometry state of the art measurement of the phase difference and a duration of the superposition of about 0.1s we expect to be able to measure the potential difference between separated states with an uncertainty of about 10-4Hz. A preliminary analysis of systematic effects for different atoms (Sr, Yb, Rb, Cs) indicates no fundamentally limiting effect at the same level of uncertainty, but does influence the choice of atom and isotope. Based on those estimates, we expect that such an experiment would improve the best existing measurements of the atom-wall QED interaction by <2 orders of magnitude, whilst gaining up to 4 orders of magnitude on the best present limits on new interactions in the range between 100 nm and 100mum
We report on the use of an ultracold ensemble of 87 Rb atoms trapped in a vertical lattice as a source for a quantum force sensor based on a Ramsey–Raman type interferometer. We reach spatial resolution in the low micrometer range in the vertical direction thanks to evaporative cooling down to ultracold temperatures in a crossed optical dipole trap. In this configuration, the coherence time of the atomic ensemble is degraded by inhomogeneous dephasing arising from atomic interactions. By weakening the confinement in the transverse direction only, we dilute the cloud and drastically reduce the strength of these interactions, without affecting the vertical resolution. This allows us to maintain an excellent relative sensitivity on the Bloch frequency, which is related to the local gravitational force, of 5 × 10 −6 at 1 s which integrates down to 8 × 10 −8 after one hour averaging time.