LIGO Seminar

One of the most original predictions of General Relativity is the coupling
between gravity and any physical entity described by a stress-energy tensor. In this picture, even quantum fields should warp space-time and be affected by its curvature. Nonetheless, interaction between quantum fields and gravity is still debated and the gravitational interaction of the quantum vacuum energy has not been observed yet.

Archimedes is an experiment designed to measure the weight of the vacuum,
i.e. the coupling of vacuum energy with gravity. Using a high precision
cryogenic balance, specifically designed for this experiment, we will
measure the weight of a multi-layered superconductive crystal. In such a
system, the Casimir energy of the electromagnetic vacuum can be modulated
triggering the superconductive phase transition. This talk will present the current status and the next developments of the Archimedes experiment.

We plan to broadcast this talk using TeamSpeak. Use a sub-channel of
LIGO Lab called "LIGO Seminar", which is not password protected.
NOTE: These and all other scheduled LIGO seminars are listed on the LIGO
Laboratory seminar calendar for convenient reference.