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

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Julien Lecoffre, Ayoub Hadi, Matthieu Bruneau, Charles Garcion, Nathalie Fabre, Éric Charron, Naceur Gaaloul, Gabriel Dutier, Quentin Bouton
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2025-03-01
Series:Physical Review Research
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.013232
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Summary: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, Lennard-Jones potentials, and patch potentials. Our findings indicate that the atom-surface potential strength parameter is C_{3}=6.9±1.2meVnm^{3}. 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.
ISSN:2643-1564