Ramsey's Method of Separated Oscillating Fields and its Application to Gravitationally Induced Quantum Phaseshifts

TL;DR

This paper proposes using Ramsey's separated oscillating fields technique to measure quantum phase shifts of neutrons in Earth's gravity, enabling highly sensitive tests of gravity and potential new physics at unprecedented precision.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of Ramsey's method to gravitational quantum states, enhancing the precision of phase shift measurements in neutron spectroscopy.

Findings

Potential to test Newton's law at extremely short ranges

Sensitivity surpasses electromagnetic energy scales by 21 orders of magnitude

Enables detection of hypothetical short-ranged interactions

Abstract

We propose to apply Ramsey's method of separated oscillating fields to the spectroscopy of the quantum states in the gravity potential above a vertical mirror. This method allows a precise measurement of quantum mechanical phaseshifts of a Schr\"odinger wave packet bouncing off a hard surface in the gravitational field of the earth. Measurements with ultra-cold neutrons will offer a sensitivity to Newton's law or hypothetical short-ranged interactions, which is about 21 orders of magnitude below the energy scale of electromagnetism.