Accurate determination of the fine structure constant using atom interferometry

by Prof. Saida Guellati (Laboratoire Kastler Brossel (Sorbonne université - Ecole normale Supérieure - Collège de France))

Tuesday 24 May 2022, 15:30 → 17:30 US/Eastern

Online

Light-pulse atom interferometry enables a variety of physical quantities to be measured with high precision. It has huge potential for testing the fundamental laws of modern physics and for the accurate determination of fundamental constants of physics.  This includes the fine structure constant, for which precise knowledge of the numerical value is crucial for testing, even with low-energy experiments, calculations of quantum electrodynamics and some predictions of the standard model of particle physics.

In this talk, I will present the Paris experiment that recently led to a new determination of the fine structure constant with a relative uncertainty of 8.1x10-11 and discuss the impact of this new result on the Standard Model test based on the electron magnetic moment anomaly.

Zoom link:  https://bnl.zoomgov.com/j/1605020278?pwd=cHJ1bDRuK1FDNnZLSnpxVkZhcDQ3QT09