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General Relativity and John Archibald Wheeler pp 507–516Cite as

Atom Interferometers and Optical Clocks: New Quantum Sensors Based on Ultracold Atoms for Gravitational Tests in Earth Laboratories and in Space

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Part of the book series: Astrophysics and Space Science Library ((ASSL,volume 367))

Abstract

Cooling and trapping of neutral atoms has been one of the most active fields of research in physics in recent years. Several methods were demonstrated to reach temperatures as low as a few nanokelvin allowing, for example, the investigation of quantum degenerate gases. The ability to control the quantum degrees of freedom of atoms opens the way to applications for precision measurement of fundamental physical quantities. Here, experiments we are performing using atom interferometry to determine the gravitational constant G and test the Newtonian gravitational law at micrometric distances will be presented. Other experiments in progress, planned or being considered using atom interferometers and new optical atomic clocks in ground laboratories and in space are also discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Fisica and LENS, Università di Firenze, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze, via Sansone 1, I-50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy

    Guglielmo M. Tino

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  1. Guglielmo M. Tino
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Correspondence to Guglielmo M. Tino .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dipto. Ingegneria dell’Innovazione, Università del Salento, Via per Monteroni, Lecce, 73100, Italy

    Ignazio Ciufolini

  2. Dept. Physics, Center for Relativity, University of Texas, Austin, Austin, 78712-1081, USA

    Richard A. Matzner

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Tino, G.M. (2010). Atom Interferometers and Optical Clocks: New Quantum Sensors Based on Ultracold Atoms for Gravitational Tests in Earth Laboratories and in Space. In: Ciufolini, I., Matzner, R. (eds) General Relativity and John Archibald Wheeler. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 367. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3735-0_21

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