UC Riverside

The Casimir effect has become very important in modern physics since its prediction in 1948. Not only is it the most accessible evidence of vacuum fluctuations in macroscopic systems but also has important applications in many areas such as condensed matter physics, atomic physics, cosmology and nano-technology. Therefore, the theoretical activity in the analysis of the Casimir effect has dramatically increased in the past 60 years. To provide deeper insights, precise Casimir force measurements are necessary.

Here, we develop a high precision dynamic Casimir force measurement system based on short coherence length fiber-optics interferometer in UHV. The frequency modulation (FM) technique and precise calibration are the key points to achieve a high precision in the Casimir force measurement. It is also the first time in our group, random errors are reduced to be smaller than systematic errors.

The Casimir force was measured between a Au-coated sphere and Au-coated plate using FM technique. A comparison to the theory where the description of the permittivity using the generalized Plasma and Drude model is done. In addition , Casimir Pressure measurement between a Au-coated sphere and Ito plate will be presented.