A micromechanical proof-of-principle experiment for measuring the gravitational force of milligram masses

TL;DR

This paper proposes a micromechanical experiment to detect gravity between milligram-scale masses, significantly advancing the ability to measure gravitational forces at very small scales and exploring implications for quantum gravity research.

Contribution

It introduces a novel micromechanical sensing scheme that enables gravitational measurements with milligram masses, surpassing previous size limitations by three orders of magnitude.

Findings

Demonstrates feasibility of measuring gravity at milligram scale

Suggests potential for more precise Newton's constant measurements

Opens new avenues for quantum gravity experiments

Abstract

This paper addresses a simple question: how small can one make a gravitational source mass and still detect its gravitational coupling to a nearby test mass? We describe an experimental scheme based on micromechanical sensing to observe gravity between milligram-scale source masses, thereby improving the current smallest source mass values by three orders of magnitude and possibly even more. We also discuss the implications of such measurements both for improved precision measurements of Newton's constant and for a new generation of experiments at the interface between quantum physics and gravity.