ABSAGE DES VORTRAGES: Towards quantum source masses: gravitational coupling between millimeter-sized objects

12.11.2020 16:00 - 17:00

Tobias Westphal (Vienna)

Abstract: Beyond huge leaps in the exploration of extreme astrophysical systems Earth-bound experiments have continuously been refined for sensing gravity phenomena on laboratory scales i.e. in the low energy limit.
   A yet unexplored frontier is the regime of microscopic source masses, which provides a natural path towards exploring the quantum nature of gravity.
   We recently demonstrated gravitational coupling between two ≈90 mg gold spheres with a systematic accuracy of 4E-11m/s² and a statistical precision of 4E-12m/s² in a miniaturized torsion balance experiment. We expect further improvements of the setup to enable the isolation of gravity as a coupling force for objects well below the Planck mass in the next iteration.
   These top down efforts strive to ultimately culminate in a purely gravitational coupling of quantum objects.

ZOOM - zoom.us/j/92376135485
Meeting ID: 923 7613 5485
Passcode: Yjc3ct

Organiser:
Fakultät für Physik
Location:
Online via Zoom