Proposal for an experiment to search for Randall-Sundrum type corrections to Newton's law of gravitation

TL;DR

This paper proposes a torsion balance experiment to detect potential deviations from Newton's law predicted by Randall-Sundrum models at micron scales, aiming to test modifications suggested by string-inspired theories.

Contribution

It introduces a novel experimental setup based on torsion balance to search for RS-type gravity corrections at small distances, with detailed parameter optimization.

Findings

Projected sensitivity can probe RS parameters up to 10 microns.

Calculations show the experiment can detect non-Newtonian forces predicted by RS models.

The method offers a new way to test fundamental gravity theories at short ranges.

Abstract

String theory, as well as the string inspired brane-world models such as the Randall-Sundrum (RS) one, suggest a modification of Newton's law of gravitation at small distance scales. Search for modifications of standard gravity is an active field of research in this context. It is well known that short range corrections to gravity would violate the Newton-Birkhoff theorem. Based on calculations of RS type non-Newtonian forces for finite size spherical bodies, we propose a torsion balance based experiment to search for the effects of violation of this celebrated theorem valid in Newtonian gravity as well as the general theory of relativity. We explain the main principle behind the experiment and provide detailed calculations suggesting optimum values of the parameters of the experiment. The projected sensitivity is sufficient to probe the Randall-Sundrum parameter up to 10 microns.