Session V04: Lab-based Tests of General Relativity and its interplay with Quantum Mechanics

Searching for new physics using optically levitated sensors

Tabletop-scale AMO-based experiments are well suited to discover a wide range of new phenomena beyond the Standard model of particle physics, where feeble interactions require precision measurements rather than high energies. In high vacuum, optically levitated dielectric nanospheres achieve excellent decoupling from their environment, making force sensing at the zeptonewton level (10-21 N) achievable. In this talk I will describe our experimental efforts using dielectric objects supported by radiation pressure as precision sensors to search for quantum effects related to gravity, high-frequency gravitational waves, and Dark Matter.