Roberto Onofrio

Measurement of the Casimir force between parallel metallic surfaces.

We report on the measurement of the Casimir force between conducting surfaces in a parallel configuration. The force is exerted between a silicon cantilever coated with chromium and a similar rigid surface and is detected by looking at the shifts induced in the cantilever frequency when the latter is approached. The scaling of the force with the distance between the surfaces was tested in the 0.5-3.0 microm range, and the related force coefficient was determined at the 15% precision level.

Evidence for a Critical Velocity in a Bose-Einstein Condensed Gas

We have studied dissipation in a Bose-Einstein condensed gas by moving a blue detuned laser beam through the condensate at different velocities. Strong heating was observed only above a critical velocity.

Observation of Superfluid Flow in a Bose-Einstein Condensed Gas

We have studied the hydrodynamic flow in a Bose-Einstein condensate stirred by a macroscopic object, a blue-detuned laser beam, using nondestructive in situ phase contrast imaging. A critical velocity for the onset of a pressure gradient has been observed, and shown to be density dependent. The technique has been compared to a calorimetric method used previously to measure the heating induced by the motion of the laser beam.

Testing the equivalence principle through freely falling quantum objects

Free fall in a uniform gravitational field is reexamined in the case of quantum states with and without a classical analogue. The interplay between kinematics and dynamics in the evolution of a falling quantum test particle is discussed allowing for a better understanding of the equivalence principle at the operational level.

Anomalies in electrostatic calibrations for the measurement of the Casimir force in a sphere-plane geometry

Dipartimento di Fisica “Galileo Galilei”, Universit`a di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, Padova 35131, Italy(Dated: December 1, 2008)We have performed precision electrostatic calibrations in the sphere-plane geometry, and observedanomalous behavior. Namely, the scaling exponent of the electrostatic signal with distance was foundto be smaller than expected on the basis of the pure Coulombian contribution, and the residualpotential found to be distance dependent. We argue that these findings affect the accuracy of theelectrostatic calibrations and invite reanalysis of previous determinations of the Casimir force.

Casimir forces and non-Newtonian gravitation

The search for non-relativistic deviations from Newtonian gravitation can lead to new phenomena signalling the unification of gravity with the other fundamental interactions. Various recent theoretical frameworks indicate a possible window for non-Newtonian forces with gravitational coupling strength in the micrometre range. The major expected background in the same range is attributable to the Casimir force or variants of it if dielectric materials, rather than conducting ones, are considered. Here we review the measurements of the Casimir force performed so far in the micrometre range and how they determine constraints on non-Newtonian gravitation, also discussing the dominant sources of false signals. We also propose a geometry-independent parameterization of all data in terms of the measurement of the constant c. Any Casimir force measurement should lead, once all corrections are taken into account, to a determination of the constant c which, in order to assess the accuracy of the measurement, can be compared with its more precise value known through microscopic measurements. Although the last decade of experiments has resulted in solid demonstrations of the Casimir force, the situation is not conclusive with respect to being able to discover new physics. Future experiments and novel phenomenological analysis will be necessary to discover non-Newtonian forces or to push the window for their possible existence into regions of the parameter space which theoretically appear unnatural.

Detectability of dissipative motion in quantum vacuum via superradiance

We propose an experiment for generating and detecting vacuum-induced dissipative motion. A high frequency mechanical resonator driven in resonance is expected to dissipate mechanical energy in quantum vacuum via photon emission. The photons are stored in a high quality electromagnetic cavity and detected through their interaction with ultracold alkali-metal atoms prepared in an inverted population of hyperfine states. Superradiant amplification of the generated photons results in a detectable radio-frequency signal temporally distinguishable from the expected background.

Experimental method to detect the magnetic birefringence of vacuum

We describe the principle and the status of the PVLAS experiment which is being assembled at INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (Legnaro, Padua, Italy) to look for coherent effects, related to the QED vacuum structure, on the propagation of a polarized light beam in a strong magnetic field.

Measurement Quantum Mechanics and Experiments on Quantum Zeno Effect

Abstract Measurement quantum mechanics, the theory of a quantum system which undergoes a measurement process, is introduced by a loop of mathematical equivalencies connecting previously proposed approaches. The unique phenomenological parameter of the theory is linked to the physical properties of an informational environment acting as a measurement apparatus which allows for an objective role of the observer. Comparison with a recently reported experiment suggests how to investigate novel interesting regimes for the quantum Zeno effect.

Exact Casimir interaction between eccentric cylinders

The Casimir force is the ultimate background in ongoing searches for extragravitational forces in the micrometer range. Eccentric cylinders offer favorable experimental conditions for such measurements as spurious gravitational and electrostatic effects can be minimized. Here we report on the evaluation of the exact Casimir interaction between perfectly conducting eccentric cylinders using a mode summation technique, and study different limiting cases of relevance for Casimir force measurements, with potential implications for the understanding of mechanical properties of nanotubes.