Measurement of Casimir-Polder interaction for slow atoms through a material grating

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Abstract
We present a method utilizing atomic diffraction patterns and statistical analysis tools to infer the Casimir-Polder interaction between argon atoms and a silicon nitride nanograting. The quantum model that supports the data is investigated in detail, as are the roles of nanograting geometry, finite-size effects, slit width opening angles, Lennard-Jones potentials, and patch potentials. Our findings indicate that the atom-surface potential strength parameter is C 3 = 6.9 ± 1.2 meV nm 3 . This value is primarily constrained by the knowledge of the nanograting geometry. The high sensitivity of our method paves the way for precise determination of the Casimir-Polder potential and exploration of new short-distance forces.
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Funding Information
  • Université Sorbonne Paris Cité
  • Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-24-CE30-4859-01)
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (390837967)

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