Tests of new physics from precise measurements of the Casimir pressure between two gold-coated plates

A micromechanical torsion oscillator has been used to strengthen the limits on new Yukawa forces by determining the Casimir pressure between two gold-coated plates. By significantly reducing the random errors and obtaining the electronic parameters of the gold coatings, we were able to conclusively exclude the predictions of large thermal effects below 1 mu m and strengthen the constraints on Yukawa corrections to Newtonian gravity in the interaction range from 29.5 nm to 86 nm.