New apparatus design for high-precision measurement ofG with atom interferometry

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel apparatus design utilizing atom interferometry with cold atoms to enhance the precision of measuring the gravitational constant G, including simulation-based evaluation and optimization of experimental setups.

Contribution

It presents a new scheme for high-precision G measurement using atom interferometry, comparing different source mass configurations and analyzing magnetic field effects.

Findings

Optimized source mass configuration identified

Magnetic field effects characterized

Simulation results suggest improved measurement accuracy

Abstract

We propose a new scheme for an improved determination of the Newtonian gravitational constant G and evaluate it by numerical simulations. Cold atoms in free fall are probed by atom interferometry measurements to characterize the gravitational field generated by external source masses. Two source mass configurations having different geometry and using different materials are compared to identify an optimized experimental setup for the G measurement. The effects of the magnetic fields used to manipulate the atoms and to control the interferometer phase are also characterized.