Francis M. Pipkin Award: Searching for new physics with optically levitated sensors

Tabletop-scale AMO-based experiments that extend the high-precision frontier provide a complementary pathway for novel tests of fundamental physics and are apt to discover a wide range of new phenomena beyond the Standard model of particle physics. In high vacuum, optically levitated dielectric nanospheres achieve excellent decoupling from their environment, making force sensing at the zeptonewton level (10-21 N) achievable. In this talk I will describe our experimental efforts using dielectric objects supported by radiation pressure as precision sensors to search for quantum effects related to gravity, high-frequency gravitational waves, and Dark Matter. I will also discuss our progress towards using AMO spin-based methods to search for new exotic spin-dependent interactions at sub-mm range in the Axion Resonant InterAction DetectioN Experiment (ARIADNE).