Measurement of Casimir-Polder interaction for slow atoms through a material grating

Julien Lecoffre; Ayoub Hadi; Matthieu Bruneau; Charles Garcion; Nathalie Fabre; Eric Charron; Naceur Gaaloul; Gabriel Dutier; Quentin Bouton

arXiv · 2407.14077

Measurement of Casimir-Polder interaction for slow atoms through a material grating

Julien Lecoffre·Ayoub Hadi·Matthieu Bruneau·Charles Garcion·Nathalie Fabre·Eric Charron·Naceur Gaaloul·Gabriel Dutier·Quentin Bouton

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Abstract

We present a method utilizing atomic diffraction patterns and statistical analysis tools to infer the Casimir-Polder interaction between Argon atoms and a silicon nitride nanograting. The quantum model that supports the data is investigated in detail, as are the roles of nanograting geometry, finite size effects, slit width opening angles, and Lennard-Jones potentials. Our findings indicate that the atom-surface potential strength parameter is C3 = 6.87 $\pm$ 1.18 meV.nm3. This value is primarily constrained by the knowledge of the nanograting geometry. The high sensitivity of our method paves the way for precise determination of the Casimir-Polder potential and exploration of new short-distance forces.

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Julien Lecoffre, Ayoub Hadi, Matthieu Bruneau, Charles Garcion, Nathalie Fabre, Eric Charron, Naceur Gaaloul, Gabriel Dutier, Quentin Bouton. 2024-07-19. Measurement of Casimir-Polder interaction for slow atoms through a material grating. https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.14077

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