Determination of the Newtonian Gravitational Constant Using Atom Interferometry
- Dipartimento di Fisica and LENS, Universita di Firenze--INFN Sezione di Firenze, Via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy)
- ESA Research and Scientific Support Department, ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1--P.O. Box 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk ZH (Netherlands)
- Dipartimento di Chimica Fisica e Inorganica, Universita di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna (Italy)
We present a new measurement of the Newtonian gravitational constant G based on cold-atom interferometry. Freely falling samples of laser-cooled rubidium atoms are used in a gravity gradiometer to probe the field generated by nearby source masses. In addition to its potential sensitivity, this method is intriguing as gravity is explored by a quantum system. We report a value of G=6.667x10{sup -11} m{sup 3} kg{sup -1} s{sup -2}, estimating a statistical uncertainty of {+-}0.011x10{sup -11} m{sup 3} kg{sup -1} s{sup -2} and a systematic uncertainty of {+-}0.003x10{sup -11} m{sup 3} kg{sup -1} s{sup -2}. The long-term stability of the instrument and the signal-to-noise ratio demonstrated here open interesting perspectives for pushing the measurement accuracy below the 100 ppm level.
- OSTI ID:
- 21024703
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 100, Issue 5; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.050801; (c) 2008 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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