Related papers: One-milligram torsional pendulum toward experiment…
Experimental tests of gravity's fundamental nature call for mechanical systems in the quantum regime while being sensitive to gravity. Torsion pendula, historically vital in studies of classical gravity, are ideal for extending…
We report on the design and sensitivity of a new torsion pendulum for measuring the performance of ultra-precise inertial sensors and for the development of associated technologies for space-based gravitational wave observatories and…
Precision sensing and manipulation of milligram-scale mechanical oscillators has attracted growing interest in the fields of table-top explorations of gravity and tests of quantum mechanics at macroscopic scales. Torsional oscillators…
Measurement of mutual gravitation on laboratory scales is an outstanding challenge and a prerequisite to probing theories of quantum gravity. A leading technology in tabletop gravity experiments is the torsion balance, with limitations due…
We describe a new type of torsional oscillator, suitable for studies of quantum fluids at frequencies of $\sim$ $100$ Hz, but capable of reaching high velocities of up to several cm\,s$^{-1}$. This requires the oscillator amplitude to…
Probing the boundary between classical and quantum mechanics has been one of the central themes in modern physics. Recently, experiments to precisely measure the force acting on milligram scale oscillators with optical cavities are…
We describe a torsion pendulum with a large mass-quadrupole moment and a resonant frequency of 2.8 mHz, whose angle is measured using a modified Michelson interferometer. The system achieved noise levels of $\sim200\…
Precise measurements of the displacement of, and force acting on, a mechanical oscillator can be performed by coupling the oscillator to an optical cavity. Brownian thermal forces represent a fundamental limit to measurement sensitivity…
Torsion pendulums have been widely used in physical experiments, because their small restoring forces are suitable for tiny force measurement. Recently, some applications such as low-frequency gravity gradiometers have been proposed by…
Torsion pendulums provide an opportunity to trap large masses in a potential weak enough to explore two-body gravitation. Cooled to, and then released from a ground state, weak quantum effects, including those from gravity, might reveal…
We explore a new class of chipscale torsion pendula formed by Si$_3$N$_4$ nanoribbon suspensions. Owing to their unique hierarchy of gravitational, tensile, and elastic stiffness, the devices exhibit damping rates of $\sim 10\;\mu$Hz and…
Gravitational forces that oscillate at audio-band frequencies are measured with masses suspended as pendulums that have resonance frequencies even lower. If the pendulum is excited by thermal energy or by seismic motion of the environment,…
The torsion pendulum is a prevailing instrument for measuring small forces acting on a solid body or those between solid bodies. While it offers powerful advantages, the measurement precision suffers from thermal noises of the suspending…
We present the development of a high $Q$ monolithic silica pendulum weighing 7 mg. The measured $Q$ value for the pendulum mode at 2.2 Hz was $2.0\times10^6$. To the best of our knowledge this is the lowest dissipative mg-scale mechanical…
Experiments aimed at quantifying the interface between quantum and classical physics necessarily require a high degree of isolation from the environment: wavefunction collapse and quantum gravity effects at laboratory scales are predicted…
Gravity differs from all other known fundamental forces since it is best described as a curvature of spacetime. For that reason it remains resistant to unifications with quantum theory. Gravitational interaction is fundamentally weak and…
We achieved for the first time a direct measurement of the thermal fluctuation of a pendulum in an off-resonant region using a laser interferometric gravitational wave detector. These measurements have been well identified for over one…
Silicon double paddle oscillators are well suited for the detection of weak forces because of their high Q factor (about 10^5 at room temperature). We describe an experiment aimed at the detection of gravitational forces between masses at…
Preparing and manipulating quantum states of mechanical resonators is a highly interdisciplinary undertaking that now receives enormous interest for its far-reaching potential in fundamental and applied science. Up to now, only nanoscale…
A four mass torsion pendulum facility for testing of the LISA GRS is under development in Trento. With a LISA-like test mass suspended off-axis with respect to the pendulum fiber, the facility allows for a direct measurement of surface…