English

Magnetic Levitation as a New Probe of Non-Newtonian Gravity

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology 2026-01-29 v2 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology High Energy Physics - Experiment Quantum Physics

Abstract

We present MORRIS (Magnetic Oscillatory Resonator for Rare-Interaction Studies) and propose the first tabletop search for non-Newtonian gravity due to a Yukawa-like fifth force using a magnetically levitated particle. Our experiment comprises a levitated sub-millimeter magnet in a superconducting trap that is driven by a time-periodic source. Featuring short-, medium-, and long-term stages, MORRIS will admit increasing sensitivities to the force coupling strength α\alpha, optimally probing screening lengths of λ1mm\lambda \sim 1\,\mathrm{mm}. Our short-term setup provides a proof-of-principle study, with our medium- and long-term stages respectively constraining α104\alpha \lesssim 10^{-4} and α105\alpha \lesssim 10^{-5}, leading over existing bounds. Our projections are readily recastable to concrete models predicting the existence of fifth forces, and our statistical analysis is generally applicable to well-characterized sinusoidal driving forces. By leveraging ultralow dissipation and heavy test masses, MORRIS opens a new window onto tests of small-scale gravity and searches for physics beyond the Standard Model.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2506.17385,
  title  = {Magnetic Levitation as a New Probe of Non-Newtonian Gravity},
  author = {Dorian W. P. Amaral and Tim M. Fuchs and Hendrik Ulbricht and Christopher D. Tunnell},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2506.17385},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

11 pages, 6 figures, 1 table. Content matches published version