Resonator with ultra-high length stability as a probe for Equivalence-Principle-violating physics

TL;DR

This study demonstrates an ultra-stable optical resonator operating at cryogenic temperatures over a year, providing stringent tests for fundamental physics principles like the equivalence principle and local position invariance.

Contribution

The paper introduces a cryogenic silicon resonator with unprecedented long-term frequency stability, enabling new bounds on physics violations and space-time fluctuations.

Findings

Resonator frequency drift less than 1.4×10^{-20}/s over 163 days

No detectable differential effect of universe expansion on rulers and clocks

Bounds set on violations of local position invariance and space-time fluctuations

Abstract

In order to investigate the long-term dimensional stability of matter, we have operated an optical resonator fabricated from crystalline silicon at 1.5$\,$K continuously for over one year and repeatedly compared its resonance frequency $f_{res}$ with the frequency of a GPS-monitored hydrogen maser. After allowing for an initial settling time, over a 163-day interval we found a mean fractional drift magnitude $|f_{res}^{-1}df_{res}/dt|<1.4\times10^{-20}$/s. The resonator frequency is determined by the physical length and the speed of light, and we measure it with respect to the atomic unit of time. Thus, the bound rules out, to first order, a hypothetical differential effect of the universe's expansion on rulers and atomic clocks. We also constrain a hypothetical violation of the principle of Local Position Invariance for resonator-based clocks and derive bounds for the strength of space-time fluctuations.