A space-based quantum gas laboratory at picokelvin energy scales

Abstract

Ultracold quantum gases are ideal sources for high-precision space-borne sensing as proposed for Earth observation, relativistic geodesy and tests of fundamental physical laws as well as for studying new phenomena in many-body physics during extended free fall. Here we report on experiments with the Cold Atom Lab aboard the International Space Station, where we have achieved exquisite control over the quantum state of single 87Rb Bose-Einstein condensates paving the way for future high-precision measurements. In particular, we have applied fast transport protocols to shuttle the atomic cloud over a millimeter distance with sub-micrometer accuracy and subsequently drastically reduced the total expansion energy to below 100 pK with matter-wave lensing techniques.

Quantum-enhanced differential atom interferometers and clocks with spin-squeezing swapping

“…On the overall, the input four-mode entangled state proposed in Fig. 1a could be experimentally generated with a suitable combination of Raman and Bragg diffraction, on ground fountain experiment [26,81] or in space environment [82] for example. Based on recent experimental development and new methods in the field, we highlight a possible experimental sequence with Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC).…”

MaQuIs - Mars Quantum Gravity Mission

“…Operation in a microgravity environment could boost the sensivity of such sensors by increasing the free-fall time of the atoms during the interferometry sequence, a critical parameter for the scaling factor (Kasevich & Chu, 1991), leading to anticipated noise levels of 0.1 nm s −2 Hz −1/2 and below (Dickerson et al, 2013). Multiple experiments implemented and investigated atom optics and atom interferometry in microgravity, including the production of Bose-Einstein condensates followed by a matter-wave collimation step, enabling the ultra-low expansion rates of the atomic ensembles for compatibility with extended free-fall times (Gaaloul et al, 2022;Lachmann et al, 2021;Aveline et al, 2020;Becker et al, 2018;Rudolph et al, 2015;Müntinga et al, 2013;Geiger et al, 2011;van Zoest et al, 2010). Operating atom interferometers at high data rates currently either implies an increased noise level due to short free-fall times (Rakholia et al, 2014) or an increased complexity when implementing an interleaved mode (Savoie et al, 2018).…”

Efficient matter-wave lensing of ultracold atomic mixtures

“…There are methods to engineer the expansion rates of the mixture by switching on for a short time, and after the clouds have expanded, a trapping potential that acts as a matter-wave lens. This delta-kick collimation technique [27,28,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40] reduces the kinetic energy of the system and enables very low expansion rates, which are mandatory for high-precision interferometry in microgravity. However, in order to control the expansion rates of a mixture in all spatial dimensions, one lens per independent direction is required for each species, rendering a full 3D implementation rather impractical and error prone.…”