Speaker
Dr
Tobias Jenke
(Universitätsassistent)
Description
Newton’s Inverse Square Law of Gravity may be tested at micron distances deeply into the theoretically interesting regime by quantum interference with ultracold neutrons. Our newly developed method is based on a resonance spectroscopy technique related to Rabi spectroscopy, which has been adapted to gravitationally bound quantum systems: By coupling such a quantum system to mechanical vibrations, we observe resonant transitions, devoid of electromagnetic perturbations. The experiment is sensitive to any hypothetical short-ranged interactions, as Newtonian gravity and hypothetical Fifth Forces evolve with different phase information. One of the main challenges to achieve sufficient results is the development of dedicated detectors that are well-adapted to very low neutron fluxes of approx. 10 counts/1000s. Here, we present two detector concepts based on Boron-10 neutron converters. The first one allows measurements with a spatial resolution better than 2 µm and a detection efficiency of approx. 61%. The second one provides integral measurement with a total efficiency of 77% and an overall background rate of 0.65 counts/1000s.
Primary author
Dr
Tobias Jenke
(Universitätsassistent)
Co-authors
Mr
Gunther Cronenberg
(Atominstitut TU Wien)
Mr
Hanno Filter
(Atominstitut TU Wien)
Hartmut Abele
(Atominstitut)
Mr
Heiko Saul
(FRM II)
Mr
Kevin Mitsch
(Atominstitut TU Wien)
Mr
Martin Thalhammer
(Atominstitut TU Wien)
