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arXiv · 1510.06312

Recent Progress with the KWISP Force Sensor

G. Cantatore·A. Gardikiotis·D. H. H. Hoffmann·M. Karuza·Y. K. Semertzidis·K. Zioutas
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Abstract

The KWISP opto-mechanical force sensor has been built and calibrated in the INFN Trieste optics laboratory and is now under off-beam commissioning at CAST. It is designed to detect the pressure exerted by a flux of solar Chameleons on a thin (100 nm) Si$_3$N$_4$ micromembrane thanks to their direct coupling to matter. A thermally-limited force sensitivity of $1.5 \cdot 10^{-14}~\mbox{N}/\sqrt{\mbox{Hz}}$, corresponding to $7.5 \cdot 10^{-16}~\mbox{m}/\sqrt{\mbox{Hz}}$ in terms of displacement, has been obtained. An originally developed prototype chameleon chopper has been used in combination with the KWISP force sensor to conduct preliminary searches for solar chamaleons.

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G. Cantatore, A. Gardikiotis, D. H. H. Hoffmann, M. Karuza, Y. K. Semertzidis, K. Zioutas. 2015-10-20. Recent Progress with the KWISP Force Sensor. https://arxiv.org/abs/1510.06312

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