Test of the universality of free fall with atoms in different spin Orientations

Abstract

We report a test of the universality of free fall (UFF) related to spin-gravity coupling effects by comparing the gravity acceleration of the $^{87}$Rb atoms in $m_F=+1$ versus that in $m_F=-1$, where the corresponding spin orientations are opposite. A Mach-Zehnder-type atom interferometer is exploited to sequentially measure the free fall acceleration of the atoms in these two sublevels, and the resultant E$\rm{\ddot{o}}$tv$\rm{\ddot{o}}$s ratio determined by this work is ${\eta_S} =(-0.2\pm1.5)\times 10^{-5}$. The interferometer using atoms in $m_F=+1$ or $m_F=-1$ is highly sensitive to magnetic field inhomogeneity, which limits the current experimental precision of our UFF test. The work here provides a stepping stone for future higher precision UFF test related to different spin orientations on atomic basis.