Abstract

We report on the accurate measurement of the Newtonian constant of gravity G, using an atom interferometry gravity-gradiometer. The probes of the gravitational field are two clouds of laser cooled ⁸⁷Rb atoms vertically separated. Their differential vertical acceleration is measured for different positions of nearby source masses. After preliminary results obtained with lead masses [1], the gravitational signal is generated now by heavier, well-characterized tungsten masses. The systematic effects affecting the accuracy of the measurement have been carefully evaluated.

© 2007 IEEE