Speaker: Prof. Giorgio Gratta (Physics Department, Stanford University)
Title: Searching for New Forces at ever shorter scale: a trip into exotic experimental physics
Abstract: Are the four fundamental interactions we know all there is? 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, in many cases resulting in superb experiments and results. Yet, while in the last 60 years planetary measurements (with natural and artificial bodies) have provided remarkable accuracy at large distance, the sensitivity to modifications of gravity or to new interactions at or below the micron scale is still modest and systematic effects are far from negligible.
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 lurking. This will be a trip into AMO, supercritical fluids, and high-resolution nuclear spectroscopy. While science results are gradually appearing, I hope to also convince the audience that, as is often the case with new techniques, a new and exciting array of questions and applications are also emerging!
