Testing Gravity at Ever Shorter Scale: a Trip into Exotic Experimental Physics
Since the times of Henry Cavendish and John Mitchell, the strength of gravity has been measured by comparing it to the reaction of a calibrated mechanical spring. While in the last 60 years planetary measurements (with natural and artificial bodies) have provided remarkable accuracy at large distance, measurements in the lab have continued to rely various incarnations of the good old mechanical springs, in many cases resulting in superb experiments and results.
In this talk, I will explore a number of drastically different techniques recently developed specifically to tackle the short distance regime, where many theories suggest something exotic may be happening. This will be a trip into AMO, high resolution nuclear spectroscopy, and neutron scattering. While science results are gradually appearing, I hope to convince the audience that, as is often the case with new techniques, a new and exciting array of questions and applications are also emerging!