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Updated: Jun 18, 2026
11:21
Cooling an Optically Trapped Ultracold Fermi Gas by Periodical Driving
Published on: March 30, 2017
Constraining the energy-momentum dispersion relation with Planck-scale sensitivity using cold atoms.
Giovanni Amelino-Camelia1, Claus Lämmerzahl, Claus Laemmerzahl
1Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma La Sapienza and Sezione Roma1 INFN, Piazzale Moro 2, 00185 Roma, Italy.
Physical Review Letters
|November 13, 2009
Summary
Ultraprecise cold-atom experiments test quantum gravity effects on particle motion. These experiments provide the first laboratory demonstration of Planck-scale sensitivity for the energy-momentum relation.
Area of Science:
- Quantum Gravity
- Atomic Physics
- High-Energy Physics
Background:
- The energy-momentum dispersion relation is a fundamental concept in physics.
- Several quantum gravity theories predict modifications to this relation.
- Previous studies focused on the ultrarelativistic regime using astrophysical observations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To constrain the nonrelativistic form of the energy-momentum dispersion relation.
- To investigate potential modifications predicted by quantum gravity theories.
- To achieve Planck-scale sensitivity in a controlled laboratory setting.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing ultraprecise cold-atom-recoil experimental data.
- Analyzing the nonrelativistic (low-speed) limit of the dispersion relation.
- Complementing astrophysical studies of the ultrarelativistic regime.
Main Results:
- Setting a limit on the leading correction to the nonrelativistic dispersion relation.
- Achieving sensitivity within one order of magnitude of the Planck scale.
- Demonstrating the first instance of Planck-scale sensitivity in laboratory experiments for dispersion relation studies.
Conclusions:
- Cold-atom-recoil experiments offer a powerful tool for probing quantum gravity.
- These experiments provide crucial complementary data to astrophysical observations.
- The study establishes a new benchmark for laboratory-based tests of fundamental physics at the Planck scale.
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