We present a new measurement of the Newtonian gravitational constant G based on cold-atom interferometry. Freely falling samples of laser-cooled rubidium atoms are used in a gravity gradiometer to probe the field generated by nearby source masses. In addition to its potential sensitivity, this method is intriguing as gravity is explored by a quantum system. We report a value of G = 0-11m~3 kg-1 m~3kg-1 (s-2), estimating a statistical uncertainty of ±0.011 × 10-11 m~3kg-1 s-2 and a systematic uncertainty of ±0.003 × 10-11m~3 kg-1 s-2. The long-term stability of the instrument and the signal-to-noise ratio demonstrated here open interesting perspectives for pushing the measurement accuracy below the 100 ppm level.
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