Detection of the earth rotation with a superfluid double-hole resonator

Abstract

The velocity circulation of a superfluid is quantised with respect to the local inertial frame of reference. This quantisation requirement implies that, depending on the geometry, the superfluid in the loop connecting the two holes of a resonator for phase slippage experiments may be set into motion in the laboratory frame by the Earth rotation. We describe an experiment displaying such an effect. Careful attention has been paid to the geometry of the superfluid loop coupled to the rotation field. The strength of this coupling is changed by orienting about the local vertical axis the plane of the loop with respect to the North. The present sensitivity of the superfluid gyrometer is about two per cent of Ω_⊕