Macroscopic quantum vacuum and microscopic gravitation

Abstract

Macroscopic quantum vacuum and modern theories of gravitation share the strong interplay between geometry and physical phenomena. We review selected issues related to the accuracy of the measurement of Casimir forces with particular emphasis on the implications for the search of non-Newtonian gravitational forces in the micrometer range. We then discuss the interplay of the Higgs particle with gravitation, arguing that spectroscopic shifts in atomic transitions due to the modifications of the vacuum expectation value of the Higgs field in regions with strong curvature of space-time may be of conceptual and observational relevance.