Description:

AMO/Small Scale Fundamental Physics Seminar

University of Nevada, Reno

February 9, 2017, 2:00 PM, F160

Abstract: We normally think of large accelerators and large-scale cosmic events when we consider the frontiers of elementary particle physics, pushing to understand the universe at higher and higher energy scales. However, several tabletop low-energy experiments are posed to discover a wide range of new physics beyond the Standard model, where feeble interactions require precision measurements rather than high energies. In our experiments, high-Q resonant sensors enable ultra-sensitive force and field detection. In this talk I will describe two applications of these sensors in searches for new physics, based on techniques in atomic-molecular-and optical (AMO) physics. First, I will discuss an experiment which uses laser-cooled optically trapped silica nanospheres to search for corrections to Newtonian gravity at micron distances with zeptonewton sensitivity. Second, I will discuss the Axion Resonant InterAction Detection Experiment (ARIADNE), a new precision magnetometry experiment designed to search for a notable dark-matter candidate: the QCD axion. The aim is to detect axion-mediated interactions between the spin of laser-polarized 3-He nuclei and a rotating (unpolarized) tungsten attractor. I will describe the basic principle of the experiment and its current status.