Precision studies of Casimir force and short-range gravity employing prototypes of interferometric gravitational wave detectors

TL;DR

This paper proposes using prototype gravitational wave detectors as highly sensitive sensors to measure the Casimir force and test short-range modifications to gravity, achieving unprecedented precision at micron scales.

Contribution

It introduces experimental schemes employing gravitational wave detector prototypes for precise measurements of Casimir and short-range gravity forces, surpassing previous sensitivity limits.

Findings

Finite temperature effects of Casimir force detectable above 1% sensitivity for >30 microns.

Constraints on modified gravity improved in the 10-100 micron range.

Potential to explore new physics at short distances.

Abstract

We discuss experimental schemes to measure the Casimir force and short range forces from hypothetical modified gravity with unprecedented sensitivity using highly sensitive prototype gravitational wave detectors as displacement sensors. The finite temperature effects of the Casimir force would be detectable with a sensitivity of better than 1% for separation exceeding 30 microns. Constraints on short range modifications to gravity can be improved in the distance range of 10-100 microns.