Test of Cosmic Spatial Isotropy for Polarized Electrons Using a Rotatable Torsion Balance

May, 2003
6 pages
Published in:
  • Phys.Rev.Lett. 90 (2003) 201101
e-Print:

Citations per year

20032009201520212025051015
Abstract: (arXiv)
To test the cosmic spatial isotropy, we use a rotatable torsion balance carrying a transversely spin-polarized ferrimagnetic Dy_{6}Fe_{23} mass. With a rotation period of one hour, the period of anisotropy signal is reduced from one sidereal day by about 24 times, and hence the 1/f noise is greatly reduced. Our present experimental results constrain the cosmic anisotropy Hamiltonian H = C_{1} sigma_{1} + C_{2} sigma_{2} + C_{3} sigma_{3} (sigma_{3} is in the axis of earth rotation) to (C_{1}^{2} +C_{2}^{2})^{1/2} = (1.8 +- 5.3) X 10^{-21} eV and | C_{3} | = (1.2 +- 3.5) X 10^{-19} eV. This improves the previous limits on (C_{1},C_{2}) by 120 times and C_{3} by a factor of 800.
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