Related papers: Constraining symmetron fields with a levitated opt…
Levitated optomechanics is showing potential for precise force measurements. Here, we report a case study, to show experimentally the capacity of such a force sensor. Using an electric field as a tool to detect a Coulomb force applied onto…
If dark energy --- which drives the accelerated expansion of the universe --- consists of a light scalar field, it might be detectable as a "fifth force" between normal-matter objects, in potential conflict with precision tests of gravity.…
Scalar fields, strongly coupled to matter, can be present in nature and still be invisible to local experiments if they are subject to a screening mechanism. The symmetron is one such mechanism which relies on restoration of a spontaneously…
We apply the new constraints from atom-interferometry searches for screening mechanisms to the symmetron model, finding that these experiments exclude a previously unexplored region of parameter space. We discuss the possibility of networks…
The symmetron is a light scalar which provides a screening mechanism so as to evade the strong constraints from local gravity tests. In order to achieve this goal, a $Z_2$ symmetry is imposed on the symmetron model. In this paper, we…
The coupling of mechanical oscillators with light has seen a recent surge of interest, as recent reviews report.[1, 2] This coupling is enhanced when confining light in an optical cavity where the mechanical oscillator is integrated as…
Motivated by the current interest in employing quantum sensors on Earth and in space to conduct searches for new physics, we provide a perspective on the suitability of large-mass levitated optomechanical systems for observing dark matter…
We propose an experiment using optically trapped and cooled dielectric microspheres for the detection of short-range forces. The center-of-mass motion of a microsphere trapped in vacuum can experience extremely low dissipation and quality…
Recently, a supersymmetric model of dark energy coupled to cold dark matter, the supersymmetron, has been proposed. In the absence of cold dark matter, the supersymmetron field converges to a supersymmetric minimum with a vanishing…
Cavity optomechanical systems are approaching a strong-coupling regime where the coherent dynamics of nanomechanical resonators can be manipulated and controlled by optical fields at the single photon level. Here we propose an…
Optically levitated nanoparticles in vacuum provide a highly sensitive platform for probing weak light-matter interactions. In this work, we present an interference-based method to amplify the optical force exerted by a weak field on a…
In a canonical optomechanical system, mechanical vibrations are dynamically encoded on an optical probe field which reciprocally exerts a backaction force. Due to the weak single photon coupling strength achieved with macroscopic…
Dark photons, which can kinetically mix with ordinary photons, represent the simplest extension to the standard model. Detecting their oscillations with visible photons could provide crucial insights into the nature of dark matter and…
The symmetron model is a scalar-tensor theory of gravity with a screening mechanism that suppresses the effect of the symmetron field at high densities characteristic of the solar system and laboratory scales but allows it to act with…
A light scalar field framework of dark energy, sometimes referred to as quintessence, introduces a fifth force between normal matter objects. Screening mechanisms, such as the chameleon model, allow the scalar field to be almost massless on…
Optically levitated nanospheres are highly sensitive to the motion of their center of mass even under small momentum transfer. We propose detecting exotic particles via nucleon scattering in such spheres in the context of an ongoing…
Light scalar fields are frequently used in modern physics, for example, as candidates for dark energy or dark matter. Open quantum dynamical effects, like frequency shifts, induced by such fields in probe particles used in interferometry…
We report on the injection locking of an optically levitated nanomechanical oscillator (a silica nanosphere) to resonant intensity modulations of an external optical signal. We explore the characteristic features of injection locking in…
Optically measuring in the photon counting regime is a recurrent challenge in modern physics and a guarantee to develop weakly invasive probes. Here we investigate this idea on a hybrid nano-optomechanical system composed of a nanowire…
Recently, remarkable advances have been made in coupling a number of high-Q modes of nano-mechanical systems to high-finesse optical cavities, with the goal of reaching regimes where quantum behavior can be observed and leveraged toward new…