Speaker
Description
Macroscopic and mesoscopic ferromagnets levitated by Meissner effect in vacuum behave as multimode mechanical systems with ultrahigh quality factor and high sensitivity to external magnetic fields. Furthermore, they can be easily coupled to superconducting quantum devices. This suggests the possibility of using this experimental platform for a variety of measurements in the context of fundamental and quantum physics. In this talk I will review our recent experimental work on levitated micromagnets with SQUID-based detection. Among various results, we have recently demonstrated magnetic field resolution beyond the energy resolution limit, atomic-like gyroscopic effects, and ultrafast spinning at MHz frequencies. I will discuss potential applications to fundamental physics, including the search for ultralight dark matter, fifth force measurements, and more speculative investigations on the macroscopic limits of quantum mechanics.
