Experimental tests of fundamental physics at ultra-low energies using atomic beam spin echo

M.F.M. DeKieviet (Heidelberg)

The Atomic Beam Spin Echo (ABSE) method, originally developed in Heidelberg, combines the exclusive surface sensitivity of a (cold) beam of atoms with the high resolution of nuclear spin echo experiments. I will brie y introduce this atom interferometry technique and demonstrate its unparalleled resolving power in both space (0.01Å-10µm) and energy (meV-10peV) in some illustrative experiments. Subsequently, I will introduce the Quantum Re ection of atoms from the attractive branch of the atom-surface interaction potential as a tool for studying the Casimir-Polder force between a single atom and a surface. The data presented address some of the current questions, equally relevant to both QED-theory and nano-technology. Finally, special extensions of our Atomic Beam Spin Echo technique are introduced, which allow precise tests of Quantum Mechanics, our Standard Model and even beyond.

(Seminarraum I)

---