Low noise cryogenic system for the measurement of Casimir energy in rigid cavities

TL;DR

This paper presents preliminary experimental results on measuring Casimir energy variations in rigid cavities by observing effects on superconducting aluminum films, exploring implications for zero-point photon fluctuations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel experimental setup to detect Casimir energy changes via superconducting transition shifts in aluminum films within cavities.

Findings

Initial measurements with thermal photons conducted

Implications for zero-point photon fluctuations discussed

Preliminary results for zero-point Casimir energy obtained

Abstract

We report on preliminary results on the measurement of variations of the Casimir energy in rigid cavities through its influence on the superconducting transition of in-cavity aluminium (Al) thin films. After a description of the experimental apparatus we report on a measurement made with thermal photons, discussing its implications for the zero-point photons case. Finally we show the preliminary results for the zero-point case.