Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics

Department of Nuclear Physics

Leader – E.V. Lychagin

Date and Time: Wednesday, 25 April 2018, at 11:00 AM

Venue: Conference Hall, Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics

Seminar topic: «Gravitational states in ultracold quantum systems»

Speaker: Kupriyanova Ekaterina Alexandrovna (the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LPI RAS), Moscow)

Abstract:

The following report is devoted to gravitational quantum states in ultracold quantum systems. Particularly it is devoted to long-lived quantum gravitational states of ultracold antihydrogen atoms moving above the material surface in the gravitational field of the Earth.
The existence of such states seems at the first glance impossible because of annihilation of antihydrogen in the material walls. Actually there is no annihilation due to quantum reflection of ultracold antiatoms from the fast changing Casimir-Polder potential of the material surface.
Gravitational quantum states of antihydrogen are characterized by peV energies and macroscopic spatial sizes, that’s why they are an ideal instrument for high-precision measurements.
Observation and study of the mentioned states has fundamental interest. We propose a method to observe these states based on resonant transitions between the states in gradient temporally oscillating magnetic field.
We propose a principal scheme of an experiment to get the gravitational mass of antihydrogen with high precision.
We also study and estimate various effects that could influence an accuracy of the experiment to get the gravitational mass of antihydrogen.

(Following the materials of the Candidate’s thesis)