Erlangen 2022 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 29: Optomechanics I

Q 29.7: Talk

Wednesday, March 16, 2022, 12:15–12:30, Q-H13

Levitodynamics in free fall — •Christian Vogt, Govindarajan Prakash, Vincent Hock, Marian Woltmann, Sven Herrmann, and Claus Lämmerzahl — Universität Bremen, ZARM (Zentrum für angewandte Raumfahrttechnologie und Mikrogravitation

Physicists have not yet been able to unite two of the most successful theories of our time, quantum theory and relativity. One way to test the interplay between these two theories is to observe interferometers with ever heavier particles. A promising candidate for observing interferometers with "large" masses are motion-cooled silica nanoparticles. These can be optically trapped in vacuum, and due to the appropriate insulation, ground-state cooled even in an environment at room temperature.
In near-field interferometers, the required free evolution time of the particles is described by the Talbot time, which scales with mass. In the NaiS project, we will extend this time from hundreds of milliseconds to several seconds by transferring the techniques of levitated optomechanics to the weightlessness environment of the 146 m high drop tower in Bremen.
This talk will focus on the experimental setup suitable for drop tower operation and how to solve the problem of low repetition rates in weightlessness.