We report on the measurement of a Larmor frequency shift proportional to the electric-field strength for $^{199}{rm Hg}$ atoms contained in a volume permeated with aligned magnetic and electric fields. This shift arises from the interplay between the
inevitable magnetic field gradients and the motional magnetic field. The proportionality to electric-field strength makes it apparently similar to an electric dipole moment (EDM) signal, although unlike an EDM this effect is P- and T-conserving. We have used a neutron magnetic resonance EDM spectrometer, featuring a mercury co-magnetometer and an array of external cesium magnetometers, to measure the shift as a function of the applied magnetic field gradient. Our results are in good agreement with theoretical expectations.
The GRANIT project is the follow-up of the pioneering experiments that first observed the quantum states of neutrons trapped in the earths gravitational field at the Institute Laue Langevin (ILL). Due to the weakness of the gravitational force, these
quantum states exhibit most unusual properties: peV energies and spatial extensions of order 10 $mu$m. Whereas the first series of observations aimed at measuring the properties of the wave functions, the GRANIT experiment will induce resonant transitions between states thus accessing to spectroscopic measurements. After a brief reminder of achieved results, the principle and the status of the experiment, presently under commissioning at the ILL, will be given. In the second part, we will discuss the potential of GRANIT to search for new physics, in particular to a modified Newton law in the micrometer range.
Based on the high sensitivity of Compton scattering off ultra relativistic electrons, the possibility of anisotropies in the speed of light is investigated. The result discussed in this contribution is based on the gamma-ray beam of the ESRFs GRAAL f
acility (Grenoble, France) and the search for sidereal variations in the energy of the Compton-edge photons. The absence of oscillations yields the two-sided limit of 1.6 x 10^{-14} at 95 % confidence level on a combination of photon and electron coefficients of the minimal Standard Model Extension (mSME). This new constraint provides an improvement over previous bounds by one order of magnitude.
